I think we should not exclude judges from the Federal Court of Appeal, nor those of the Federal Court, from potential appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada. I also hope you will remember section 5.4 of the Federal Courts Act during your deliberations. It says the following:
At least five of the judges of the Federal Court of Appeal and at least ten of the judges of the Federal Court must be persons who have been judges of the Court of Appeal or of the Superior Court of the Province of Quebec, or have been members of the Bar of that province.
These judges have practised law during at least 10 years and sit either on the Federal Court, or the Federal Court of Appeal. In my opinion, they are eligible for an appointment to the Supreme Court. I think the best candidates should be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The fact that a person is appointed today to the Federal Court of Appeal after having been a member of the Quebec Bar for 20, 25 or 30 years does not mean that he or she would not be eligible for an appointment to the Supreme Court a year or two later. If that were the case, the Supreme Court would be depriving itself of talented persons.