Good afternoon, members of the committee.
I'm here with my colleagues, Mr. Patrick Xavier and Ms. Anna Dekker. We're here to speak about divisions 26 and 27.
Just by way of a brief introduction on division 26, the purpose of this amendment is to stop the pension accrual of a judge who is the subject of a report that's referred by the Canadian Judicial Council to the Minister of Justice.
By way of background, this is being proposed because there has been a concern or perception in the past that some judges who—and I should be clear on this—have a right to challenge these kinds of findings have commenced litigation in order to ensure that their pensionable service continues to accrue.
What this proposed amendment would do, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, is stop the accrual of that pensionable service on the day that a report is issued by the Canadian Judicial Council recommending a judge's removal from office.
Again, at its base, this is being proposed to continue to ensure public confidence in the judiciary.
I'll stop there. Please, if you have any questions, myself or my colleague, Patrick Xavier, would be happy to answer you.
Thank you.