Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I will be sharing my time with Mr. McKinnon.
Thank you, Minister, for being here today and for listening to the views of parliamentarians. It's a tremendous pleasure for me to be able to be part of this conversation.
I'd like to talk a little bit about the appointment of women to the court. We know, and there has been ample evidence, that when a deliberative body has both women and men on it, you see better decision-making. If you look at the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court and at the opinions that have been given by the female justices, you see some of that change in discourse, particularly around section 15 of the charter.
My question to you is this. You've spoken quite a bit about the diversity of backgrounds and life experiences. I agree that the definition of merit also ensures that the person can understand the societal implications and the diverse experiences that will bring people before the court.
Minister, more and more Canadian women are becoming lawyers, and more and more of them are becoming judges. But the situation is a bit different as far as the Supreme Court goes. The number of female justices rose initially and then dropped before going up again. Four women now sit on the Supreme Court.
How can we make sure that the new process guarantees gender equality on the Supreme Court?