REGINA — Several provincial premiers are calling on the federal government to give provinces a greater role in appointing superior court judges.
In a joint letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, signed by Premier Scott Moe along with Ontario’s Doug Ford, Alberta’s Danielle Smith and Quebec’s François Legault, the premiers propose that superior court and Court of Appeal judges be chosen by the federal government from a pool of candidates provided by each province.
In the letter, the premiers call for a new, collaborative approach.
“In other federal systems such as the United States, Australia, Germany and Switzerland, the appointment of state-level superior trial and appellate court judges rests with state governments rather than the federal government,” the letter stated. “In this respect, Canada remains an outlier, and a discussion of reform is long overdue. It is crucial that the selection of superior court judges result from diligent, rigorous, and ethical processes, guaranteeing its independent and non-partisan nature. And it is equally crucial that provincial governments have a substantive role in selection processes of judges of their superior courts to respect the federalism principle…
“We are therefore requesting that federal judicial appointments for superior trial courts and courts of appeal of the provinces be chosen from candidates recommended and approved by the relevant provincial government, and that both the provincial and federal governments be given full access to the same information for all assessed judicial candidates.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod reiterated the reasons Saskatchewan signed the letter.
“We think that when the provinces have a more meaningful, collaborative role in the appointment of our judiciary, that only strengthens the public's confidence in the administration of justice and promotes cooperative federalism,” said McLeod. “And we think that that's better for everybody. So that's something that our premier, together with some of his colleagues, were promoting.”
McLeod said that by giving provinces a voice in the process, it “increases the public's confidence in the administration of justice. And I think it helps the judiciary more fulsomely reflect the communities that it serves.”
He added the government is not suggesting provinces would solely appoint judges.
“They're still federal appointments. What we're saying is that we would like a more formalized role in the conversation of that appointment. So making sure that the provinces are involved in a more meaningful way in the appointment process, in the existing process.”
McLeod indicated the federal government appears open to further dialogue on the issue.
“What Premier Moe and his colleagues had suggested was that the provinces would create a pool of candidates and the federal government would choose from that pool. The federal minister said that that's not something that they're considering at this time, but that they were open to the conversation about what it might look like. So we're certainly happy to continue that conversation with the federal government and find a path where we can create a system that is more involved on behalf of the provinces. We're not saying that the system is broken, but any good system can always be made better.”
