I would like to come back to the issue of opposition days and respond to my colleague. Opposition days are fine and good, but during some of the past opposition days, we had little time to carry out a study. And the government does decide when opposition days are to be held.
We all have our opinion on what would be the best system, and I do not think I have the monopoly on the truth. The idea underlying the motion is to carry out a study. That means we would hear from witnesses of all backgrounds. They could be former judges, university professors, constitutional experts or average Canadians with an opinion on the matter.
In Quebec, we managed to obtain the Commission of Inquiry into the Appointment Process for Judges in Quebec, or the Bastarache Commission. It didn't take 15 years, but a certain number of hearings had to be held. The commissioner, a former justice of the Supreme Court, managed to establish guidelines that have helped free the judicial appointment process in Quebec from accusations of partisanship.
To be totally honest, whether we are part of the government or not, I don't want us to be seen as peddlers of influence. I can feel some of that here. I repeat, we are all striving—since these are the words the minister is constantly using—for excellence. If we are striving for excellence, the political side of the issue fades in importance. Maybe this wouldn't take as much time as you think and would not require the testimony of 150 witnesses.
People think that this will not be heard. Our colleague Mr. Leef, a member for Yukon, sponsored a bill on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. I do not want my bill to be set aside while I am being told that it will be studied. If that's what you are telling me, I am a bit surprised. I am taking note of the fact that my colleague Mr. Goguen, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, is telling us that, given everything we have to do, we will not have enough time to conduct this study, which would, therefore, be theoretical. We are being told that the study will be more complex. When it's to the Conservatives' benefit, they use this type of argument, but when it is not, they say the opposite. It's a bit hard for me to accept such arguments given the context.
When we had to study part 17—I think—of the Criminal Code, which concerned the language of the accused, trials and so on, it took some time, but we managed to get it done. I do not want to hear that kind of argument in situations where we think something is worthwhile. Tell me that this doesn't make sense, that you already have another process, or whatever, but don't tell me that we don't have the time. Let's adopt this and send a clear message. This is what we think should be done. If we manage to conclude the study before election is called, so much the better, if not, it won't be the first time a bill has died before an election campaign. It will be happily brought back later on. I could list pretty much all the private member' bills that are before the House at one stage or another and that are at their 18th version.
Mr. Chair, with all due respect, this is not a very convincing argument. We get the impression that the government probably doesn't want to review the process. Democracy is all very well, and you will vote as you like. Nevertheless, it seems to me that this heartfelt appeal is coming from many sources, but a comprehensive response is once again lacking.
I don' know whether people have read La Presse of November 29, like me. The newspaper said something along the following lines:
Former justices of the Supreme Court of Canada are calling for the creation of a new process for selecting judges who will sit on the country's highest tribunal.
These are not some dummies; these are people the current government often selects as heads of commissions. Some people actually disagree with that approach, as it emphasizes the status of former Supreme Court justices. Their opinion should not be heard only when it benefits us. Those people are calling for the creation of a new process. I find it interesting that they don't all agree on this. It's just like all of us around the table; we don't all have the same idea.
The other day, Mr. Casey put forward a motion that called for a fully public process—with lists and so on. His colleague Mr. Cotler, a former minister of justice, calls for a different type of system. Someone else might be in favour of another approach. That is where we are. This shows what we need to do. At the very least, we should send the message that we believe that, given everything that is happening, it is time to look into this matter.
Just so the government would not feel like too much of a target, I was not talking only about the Supreme Court of Canada. I felt very generous the day I came up with this. The whole appointment process can become beneficial. In fact, the same issue comes up when it comes to appointments to superior courts, courts of appeal and other tribunals.
This is not aimed at a specific tier, but I think the same principles should apply as a result.