Yes.
The consultation was done in several stages.
The department prepared a consultation document that was posted to the departmental website, and the general public had a chance to comment on it.
We officials also examined all the correspondence that the Minister of Justice had received from the public over the years regarding the judicial conduct process.
We consulted the Canadian Judicial Council, which will manage the process; the Superior Court Judges Association, which is the main representative of superior court judges; the Federation of Law Societies of Canada; the Council of Canadian Law Deans; and the Canadian Bar Association.
We consulted lawyers who have represented judges in previous disciplinary processes, lawyers who have adduced evidence against judges and lawyers appointed to inquiry committees.
We received submissions from the Barreau du Québec and the Canadian Association for Legal Ethics, which is an association of legal ethics professors.
Lastly, we consulted the provinces and territories.
So this consultation was quite exhaustive.
Bill C‑9 truly reflects the concerns that we heard from all those groups. They focus mainly on the fact that there were no sanctions for minor misconduct, that the process for removing a judge for gross misconduct was too long and too costly and that it was impossible for the general public to take part in the process for determining whether a judge was guilty of misconduct.
Bill C‑9 will therefore remedy all that.