Justice minister names 24 new judges, unveils new appointment process

In Edmonton earlier this month, the case of a man charged with murder in a prison stabbing was tossed out because it took more than five years for the trial to start — a violation of his right to have his case heard within a reasonable time.

The new appointments include five to Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench, which is also losing two of its existing judges to the province’s Court of Appeal.

Six appointments are in Ontario — including one promotion from Superior Court to the Ontario Court of Appeal — as well as three each in British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, one in Quebec and one to the Tax Court of Canada.

The appointments will address “the urgent needs that we’ve heard from the chief justices in the respective provinces and territories, so that is going to assist with respect to having more resources in terms of judges on the bench,” Wilson-Raybould said.

“I had the opportunity to speak with my provincial and territorial counterparts to recognize that there are many factors that lead to delay in the criminal justice system and we are all committed to collaboratively working towards identifying those and addressing them.”

The appointments also include 14 women and two who self-identify as indigenous, Wilson-Raybould said, with increased diversity being a goal going forward.

The new Superior Courts appointments process will incorporate some elements of the new way of creating a shortlist of candidates to the Supreme Court of Canada.

That process, which includes requiring candidates to fill out a lengthy questionnaire, culminated earlier this week in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominating Justice Malcolm Rowe of St. John’s, N.L. — the first Newfoundlander ever named to the high court.

“We learned from the development of that process, recognize that we want to have a bench that reflects the diversity of Canada,” she said.

The government is also disbanding the current judicial advisory committees that screen potential candidates for federally appointed judicial positions.

They will form new ones with seven members, no longer requiring one of them to be a representative from the law enforcement community and allowing judges on the committees to vote, which reverses changes the Conservatives had brought in.

The committees themselves will also be created with an eye to diversity.

— Follow @smithjoanna on Twitter

Joanna Smith, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said seven new judges had been appointed in Alberta.

by Canadian Press

Justice minister names 24 new judges, unveils new appointment process

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