Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying on my behalf and as someone who has worked for equality in this country for a long, long time, over 25 years, and on behalf of the Minister of Justice and the government that I take very strong exception to the remarks made by the hon. member.
This government rejects any suggestion that the decision taken was discriminatory and racist. We are confident that Canadians looking at the government's record on appointments will see concrete evidence of the personal commitment of the Minister of Justice to improving the quality and diversity of the judiciary and in particular, to increasing minority representation and women's participation on the bench. A fair reading of our recent efforts will prove this.
In Nova Scotia in the past year alone the Minister of Justice and this government have has appointed two outstanding jurists from minority communities, Judge Heather Robertson and Justice Linda Oland. Furthermore, real efforts are being made through judicial appointments committees across this country to achieve the objective of greater diversity on our benches. These efforts are bearing fruit.
More could be done. I agree with the hon. member on that. As the minister herself said last week in answer to these questions from the hon. member, critics of these recent unified family court appointments should know that we are a government that takes considerable pride in the fact that we appointed the first black judge in the province of Alberta to a superior court.
These decisions are not made in isolation, something the opposition often forgets. As with all appointments, the Nova Scotia unified family court appointments were made following extensive consultations with the provincial attorney general, senior members of the bench and the bar. They are excellent appointments and reflect our continuing commitment to a strong family court.
This is the real story of what has happened in Nova Scotia recently. Through a shared vision and the provision of resources, the unified family court, the province of Nova Scotia and the federal government have laid the groundwork for reducing the costs and the pain of family disputes and want to find lasting solutions to benefit families and children.