Can a counsel of record be removed from the record because of a conflict of interest?

This Court has the jurisdiction to remove a counsel of record where that person has a conflict of interest. As Mr. Justice Sopinka wrote in MacDonald Estate v. Martin, [1990] 3. S.C.R. 1235 at 1245 - 1246: The courts, which have inherent jurisdiction to remove from the record solicitors who have a conflict of interest, are not bound to apply a code of ethics. Their jurisdiction stems from the fact that lawyers are officers of the court and their conduct in legal proceedings which may affect the administration of justice is subject to this supervisory jurisdiction. Nonetheless, an expression of a professional standard in a code of ethics relating to a matter before the court should be considered an important statement of public policy. The statement in chapter V should therefore be accepted as the expression by the profession in Canada that it wishes to impose a very high standard on a lawyer who finds himself or herself in a position where confidential information may be used against a former client. The statement reflects the principle that has been accepted by the profession that even an appearance of impropriety should be avoided.