I shall be brief, Madam Speaker, because I would not want to repeat the arguments my hon. colleagues or myself made previously as part of this debate.
First, I wish to thank all the hon. members who took the time to prepare and give speeches on such a fundamental issue. I must say that those I heard today were outstanding. I thank those who took the time to work on this issue, as well as those who took the time to discuss with me. I am thinking in particular of my colleague and friend—we set aside our differences of opinion on certain points—the hon. member for Scarborough East, with whom I had the opportunity to exchange ideas about this on many occasions. I thank him for taking part in this debate and for supporting the motion.
This is an important debate because it has to do with the institutional architecture of our legal system and our democracy. I would just like to echo what Quebec's Chief Justice Michel Robert recently told the magazine Lawyers Weekly in an interview, saying that we would be wise to improve the transparency and credibility of the very secretive consultation process leading to the appointment of a Supreme Court judge.
In passing on what Chief Justice Robert said, I ask my colleagues to support this motion proposing that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights study the process by which judges are appointed to Courts of Appeal and to the Supreme Court of Canada.
If a personality as eminent as Justice Robert feels this should be looked into, I believe it is our duty as parliamentarians to make the time to do so.
I am sure that the justice and human rights committee will address this serious issue enthusiastically, of course, but also methodically, diligently, and, most importantly, with the interests of society as a whole in mind.
My message to my colleagues is this: as parliamentarians, elected representatives of the people, let trust us each other enough to allow us to take the time to properly address this issue. I want the motion to be carried on Wednesday. I would like the vote to be unanimous. Let us keep that a secret just between us, Madam Speaker. I think that the exercise is worthwhile.
This motion was introduced in a wholly non-partisan spirit. I believe that not only would all parties represented in this House be very well served by the work done by the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, but so would the people of Quebec and of Canada.
In closing, I wish a happy new year, Shana Tova, to all our Jewish friends and neighbours.