That is correct.
Evidence of meeting #50 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was judge.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #50 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was judge.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
That is correct.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
That is a very important point.
The decision in Nadon actually sought to ensure a guarantee in the Constitution: the representation of Quebec judges on the Supreme Court.
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
Yes.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
It is not about limiting the other aspects but, rather, about ensuring that one. Everyone has rights, and those rights can be restricted pursuant to decisions that have been rendered. The fact remains that rights are granted, generally speaking.
Do you see any distinction in that regard?
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
It's important to understand that the Nadon decision was less about constitutional rights and more about eligibility criteria. It was about ensuring what the court called a historic compromise. Thus, in order for Quebec to accept the Supreme Court's existence in the country, given the province's different legal system, three of the seats on the Supreme Court were reserved for Quebec judges. That is the compromise that was renewed in the Constitution of 1982. In Nadon, the Supreme Court determined that Parliament could not change the definition of a Quebec judge without affecting the makeup of the court, which is protected precisely to ensure Quebec's representation on the court.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
That is provided for under the Constitution.
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
It's not in the Constitution. That is the problem.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Could it be said that the two founding peoples—
The same is true with respect to senators, in terms of ensuring Quebec's representation so as not to lose that percentage.
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
Precisely. That is another compromise between the various parts of the federation.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
I have always considered the provisions in section 23 of the charter as minimum, not maximum, requirements, so the service could be expanded.
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
That is more or less what I was saying earlier. Requirements could be added without amending the Constitution.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
That is what Parliament did in the Judges Act, for superior courts and appeal courts. It's not in the Constitution. It was determined that, in order to be eligible to be appointed a judge, an individual had to have 10 years' experience as a lawyer. That is an additional requirement set out in the act.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
To do that, Parliament did not have to reopen the Constitution.
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
That is correct.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
Mr. Grammond, I'm not sure whether you had time to examine the issue of the pool of bilingual judges. Sometimes, we hear objections from people who ask whether there are enough bilingual judges. Have you considered that question?
12:55 p.m.
Prof. Sébastien Grammond
A few years ago, in fact, we did a study on bilingualism among appeal court judges. We collected information from appeal court registrars. The results were rather surprising. The bilingualism rate was at least 30%, and that includes the western provinces. There are bilingual judges, then.
When we take a long look back at the practice over time, we see that most judges in provinces other than Quebec are bilingual. They had to be found somewhere, and to my knowledge, no one has criticized the appointments, arguing that a bilingual judge who was not competent had been appointed. I would actually say that bilingualism and competency go hand in hand. The concern over limiting the supply of acceptable candidates is not founded, in my view.
Furthermore, we are seeing many superior and appeal court judges taking French training. It has also long been known that, although not a prerequisite, French proficiency is a tremendous asset for Supreme Court appointees. Any ambitious lawyer should know that.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much, Professor Grammond.
That brings our meeting today to a close.
Just before we adjourn, however, I would like to know whether committee members wish to hear from officials from the Department of Justice.
1 p.m.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
That would certainly be a good idea.
1 p.m.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
I would prefer to hear from constitutional experts first.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
No problem.
We will meet again on Thursday.
The meeting is adjourned.