Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to speak to the House on Bill C-2, an act to amend the Judges Act.
I wish to express my very sincere thanks to the member for Saint-Hubert and the member for Crowfoot for their approval of the amendment to the act and their facilitation in assuring its passage through the House.
As members of the House are aware, under the Constitution of Canada it is the duty of Parliament to fix and provide salaries, allowances and pensions of federally appointed judges. To assist Parliament in exercising that responsibility a process was established under the Judges Act in 1981 for the review of salaries, pensions and other benefits payable to these judges.
Every three years a commission is appointed by the Minister of Justice to enquire into the adequacy of judicial remuneration. These triennial commissions are currently under statutory obligation to report to the minister within six months of appointment. The Minister of Justice in turn is under a statutory obligation to table a report in Parliament within 10 sitting days after receiving the report.
The rationale of having such commissions is obvious. Triennial commissions provide the government on a regular basis with non-binding advice which is objective and independent in nature with respect to determining fair compensation for federal judges. The process respects and enhances the independence of the judiciary according to our constitutional traditions. The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed that this independence of the judiciary is grounded on both security of tenure and financial security.
The six-month reporting period has proven to be a very short time for the triennial commission members, who serve part time, to complete their onerous responsibilities. They need to invite and receive briefs on behalf of the public from judges' groups and others. They need to publish notices in the press. They need to acquire and study highly technical information. They need to await and study written submissions. They need to conduct public hearings. They need to prepare and translate the report. All of this is within six months of appointment. This puts undue pressure on the commissioners and barely allows them the time necessary to approach the job methodically and produce a well considered report on compensation issues.
The judges' organizations, the Canadian Bar Association and others making submissions to the commission have generally found the present six-month reporting period to be insufficient. The chair of the commission which is currently under way, Mr. David Scott, Q.C., as well as the main judicial organizations and the Canadian Bar Association are in favour of extending the reporting period by six months.
Bill C-2 would do just that and nothing more. It would merely extend the reporting period for the triennial commissions from six months to twelve. The cost of this amendment would be nil. The bill would have no bearing on judges' salaries, which continue to be frozen like those of everyone else in the federal public sector.
I urge honourable members to approve the quick passage of this minor amendment to the Judges Act. I once again wish to extend my sincere thanks to the member for Saint-Hubert and the member for Crowfoot.