Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister.
Thank you, Mrs. Wright, for testifying today.
Obviously, the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice does not happen every day, and we all recognize that it's important to have a rigorous, inclusive, and transparent process that leaves no doubt as to what the mechanisms are. Of course, your statements today and the testimony given will explain why the declaratory provisions that we've enacted in clauses 471 and 472 are so important.
I noticed in your opening remarks that you spoke of Mr. Justice Décary, and we know, of course, that Mr. Justice Décary spent 20 years at the Federal Court of Appeal, and that he wrote an important decision in St-Hilaire v. Canada, which of course confirms the place of the civil law in the federal courts. Former Justice Décary supports publicly that on our declaratory provisions, clauses 471 and 472 that are in front of us today, he is in full agreement with them.
Can you tell us about the place of civil law at the Federal Court and why these declaratory provisions are so important for the preservation of the civil law tradition at the Federal Court and also the Supreme Court, Mr. Minister?