Honourable colleagues, I wish to begin by extending my thanks to you.
Madam Chair, it's nice to see you.
I also acknowledge that I'm speaking to you from the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
It is an honour for me to speak in support of the candidacy of Chief Justice Moreau for the Supreme Court of Canada. I have confidence in her ability to meet the highest standards in every aspect of this role. That includes a thoughtful contribution to the development of law, an ability to serve the Canadian public exceptionally well, a commitment to diligence and professionalism and her ethical excellence. I want to congratulate Chief Justice Moreau and I look forward to seeing her appear before parliamentarians today.
The appointment of Chief Justice Moreau will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Russell Brown. I am pleased to announce that in addition to this judicial appointment, I have had the honour of making 37 others since taking this role at the end of July of this year. The timely appointment of high-calibre candidates is essential. I always try to ensure that these two critical aspects come together.
I would now like to talk about the Supreme Court appointment process.
As some of you know, the Supreme Court appointment process is composed of two key elements that are interrelated: the selection process itself and the Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments. I will begin by giving an overview of the first before talking to you about the Advisory Board. We will then hear from the Honourable Wade MacLauchlan, Chairperson of the Advisory Board, who is here with me today and has agreed to share his perspective with us.
I wish to highlight the importance of the Supreme Court appointment process generally and of our unique role here today. We are engaged in nothing less than the critical work of upholding public confidence in the administration of justice. Trust in the judges who serve Canadians in this system is essential, as is belief in the integrity of the process by which they are selected.
This is now the sixth time this very process has been used by our government following its 2016 introduction by the Prime Minister. The current process was launched by the Prime Minister on June 20, 2023. Applications remained open until July 21. In accordance with the well-established custom of regional representation on the Supreme Court, this selection process was advertised as being open to all qualified applicants from western and northern Canada. Suitable individuals would be jurists of the highest calibre, functionally bilingual and representative of the country’s diversity.
A rigorous questionnaire that is made available to the public is an integral part of the appointment process and offers candidates a standardized platform to demonstrate how they will satisfy the criteria. It is a matter of excellence in legal and professional areas. The questionnaire is also a way to explore the candidate's personal experience. Assessment of these aspects by the Advisory Board is essential to the appreciation of the candidate's points of view on the law and Canadian society.
The IAB, as it is known by its acronym, forms the heart of the selection process. That's the independent advisory board. It is reflective itself of Canada's diversity. Its members are not solely government nominees but also include those put forward by an array of organizations committed to serving Canadians by upholding the rule of law. Those organizations are the Canadian Bar Association, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Indigenous Bar Association, the Canadian Judicial Council and the Council of Canadian Law Deans.
This marks the second occasion of the Indigenous Bar Association's involvement, following an expansion of the IAB's membership in 2022. I am very grateful to the Indigenous Bar Association for its continued support of this critical process for Canada.
I appreciate the efforts of the chairperson and of all the other members of the Advisory Board and I thank them very much. Their work is essential to maintaining a healthy and robust Canadian judiciary and democracy that we can all be proud of.
On that, I would like to acknowledge the board's chairperson, Mr. MacLauchlan, who is on his second term in the chair.
Mr. MacLauchlan, thank you for your dedication and for being here today.
As stipulated by its terms of reference and the confidentiality agreements entered into by each member, the IAB conducted its work in a confidential manner. Preserving such confidentiality, colleagues, throughout the process is critical. It's critical for the fair and dignified treatment of every one of the candidates.
The work of the IAB was supported by the Office of the Commissioner of Federal Judicial Affairs, an independent organization that supports me, as the minister, in the judicial appointments process. I offer my thanks to the commissioner and his office for all of their work.
The assessment done above all by the Advisory Board consists of reviewing candidacies using transparent, merit-based criteria. Mr. MacLauchlan will talk to you about this process during his speech. This assessment concluded with the submission of a limited list to the Prime Minister.
I assisted the Prime Minister by advising him in the capacity of the review I did of the limited list, by also taking care to consult chief justices, my cabinet colleagues, my provincial and territorial counterparts, opposition justice critics, members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, members of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, as well as experienced members of the Bar. The Prime Minister then made his final choice.
I will now turn to Mr. MacLauchlan and invite him to speak to the IAB process. I very much look forward to his remarks. Those he offered during the nomination process of Justice O'Bonsawin in 2022 were insightful and informative, and they reminded us of the need to ensure that our judicial nomination processes, at whatever level, are focused on discovering, fostering and recognizing candidates who are exceptional and reflective of the diversity of Canadian society.
Mr. MacLauchlan, please go ahead.