Justice Committee on Oct. 29th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Mr. Cooper, you're out of time, unfortunately.

Mr. Sangha, you're up for five minutes, please.

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair; thank you very much.

Minister, thank you very much for coming today to the committee. Welcome.

Minister, supporting immigration has been a priority of this government. I understand that the Department of Justice plays a role in supporting immigration and has had to step up to fill funding shortfalls created by the Ontario government. Could you, Minister, talk about that problem regarding the funding?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Thank you very much, Ramesh, for your question.

Indeed, legal aid and immigration funding is critically important to our government. Legal aid funding, generally, is critical for access to justice. There have been funding shortfalls in Ontario and elsewhere for a variety of different reasons. Some have been caused by COVID; some have been caused by government policy.

In budget 2019, we announced an additional $49.6 million over three years for immigration and refugee legal aid, because that part comes directly under our jurisdiction, and that funding will increase the 2020-21 federal contribution from $11.5 million to $28.2 million. That, again, helps support shortfalls in Ontario and across Canada.

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

I have just one more question, a follow-up question, Minister.

Do you feel that this amount that you are telling us regarding the fill-up is enough at this time, or are the claimants and lawyers still feeling there is a shortfall? Is it still—

[The Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Sorry. I'm just going to interject here, Mr. Sangha.

Can you make sure that the sound on your headset is selected via Zoom so that we're picking up the sound from the headset and not from the computer?

I'm just going to stop your time here for a minute.

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Is it okay now?

[The Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Is that better, Mr. Clerk?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Mr. Marc-Olivier Girard]

I think it sounds better.

[The Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Okay. Continue, Mr. Sangha.

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, I understand you have given figures, which seem to be substantial enough, but do you think those figures are substantial enough for COVID and for other purposes that are legally required? Legally, this is a challenging subject at this time for the lawyers and claimants in refugee claims.

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Again, thank you. It is an important question.

Certainly COVID has put pressures on the system across Canada, and not just on immigration and refugee legal aid. Given the questions we have had previously, there will be recourse to legal aid in family law settings, and maybe even in aspects of intimate partner violence and whatnot. There may be increased bankruptcies that force people to use legal aid as well. There are also funding questions, particularly in a place like Ontario, where a great deal of the funding comes from the foundation and whose revenues will have been impacted by the market impact on foundation funding.

It's a complex problem, and I'm working with my provincial and territorial counterparts. I'm always doing my best to seek resources for additional support. Is it enough? It is probably never enough, but we do our best under the circumstances to get as many resources as possible.

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, do I have time to ask another question?

[The Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

You have 30 seconds left, Mr. Sangha.

[Ramesh Sangha, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Thank you. I will forgo it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Iqra Khalid]

Thank you Mr. Sangha.

Now we have Monsieur Fortin for two and a half minutes, as we go into the second round.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Minister, can you tell me whether any federal judicial appointment positions are currently vacant in Quebec?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Yes, there are a few. I don't want to reveal too much, but—

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

You don't want to reveal the name of the person you will be appointing. Is that correct?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

The appointments will be to the Court of Appeal of Quebec or the Superior Court of Québec.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Do you know how many positions are being filled?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

I believe it's two, perhaps four positions—two on the Court of Appeal of Quebec and a small number on the Superior Court of Québec.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

What percentage of serving federally appointed judges can hear cases in both official languages, so equally well in French and in English?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Those kinds of figures are hard to come by because judges don't reveal that kind of information. To them, it is a matter of judicial independence. I can tell you, though, that 32% of our federal judicial appointees since 2016—so judges appointed to superior courts and the Federal Court countrywide—have been functionally bilingual. They are able to carry out their duties in both languages. Another 12% of appointees can read and understand written material.

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

How do you make sure of that?

Do you conduct some sort of evaluation or provide ongoing training?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Participating in ongoing training is also part of a judge's job and supports judicial independence.

In my experience and from what I've seen first-hand, judges always have the option to improve their language skills.