The mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality has been accused of professional misconduct for remarks he made about the Nova Scotia judiciary.

John Morgan, who is also a lawyer, will appear before the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society next week to answer for comments he made to CBC News last year.

Morgan insists he didn't mean to offend anyone and should have the right to speak his mind.

Morgan is accused of breaching the following provisions of Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct: A Handbook for Lawyers in Nova Scotia:

  • Failed in his duty to encourage public respect for justice and to uphold and try to improve the administration of justice.
  • Failed to discharge his duty, as a lawyer who holds public office, to adhere to standards of conduct as high as those which the Handbook requires of a lawyer engaged in the practice of law.
  • Failed to treat the court with courtesy and respect, and failed to uphold and encourage public respect for justice and the administration of justice.

"Our citizens have the right to have their politicians free to accurately describe the challenges faced by the region," Morgan said Thursday.

In April 2008, after the Nova Scotia Supreme Court rejected the CBRM's lawsuit against the province over equalization payments, Morgan told CBC News that judges in Nova Scotia were "not tree shakers."

He also suggested that most judges have ties to the political process, saying, "They are there because they are, for the most part, part of the establishment."

According to the law society, Morgan failed to treat the court with courtesy and respect, and failed to encourage public respect for justice.

As a lawyer, Morgan must follow certain rules, said Darryl Pink, the society's executive director.

"A lawyer cannot hide behind the fact that he or she is speaking in some other capacity if he breaches the rules that govern all lawyers," Pink said.

Morgan believes he's the first politician in Canada taken to task by a law society for such remarks. He said he meant no disrespect and only wanted to suggest that courts in Nova Scotia are not as active in addressing wrongs as the Supreme Court of Canada.

"I've got great respect for the skills of all of the individuals who are part of the Nova Scotia judiciary. But really, what we're analyzing is not respect for individuals but a process of decision making," Morgan said.

A hearing is scheduled for next Friday in Halifax.