Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Calgary Shepard.
I have the privilege to rise today to speak on this day when thousand of Canadians, especially Atlantic Canadians, are wondering what to make of this Prime Minister's plans to break with the tradition set out in the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Supreme Court Act, both of which govern the appointment of Supreme Court justices.
As we know, one thing sets Canada apart from the rest of the Commonwealth. Like the other 52 countries, we practice common law, a legal principle built essentially on case law, but we also have the Civil Code of Quebec, a legacy of our French tradition.
These two justice systems set Canada apart on a number of levels. Internationally, Canada stands out for the quality of its legal experts in various fields of international law, including maritime law. That is why the Supreme Court Act provides that Quebec have at least three seats at the Supreme Court.
Having said that, I would like to point out that the Université de Moncton, in Atlantic Canada, is the only Canadian university where the entire common law degree program is taught in French. That is quite something. We must recognize and respect this unique expertise in today's debate because Atlantic Canada's excellent resources and jurists have made Canada's justice system an international model that is envied by all.
Under the Supreme Court Act, at least three of the Supreme Court justices must be from Quebec; by convention, three justices are from Ontario, two are from the west, and one is from the Atlantic provinces.
Given that the Liberal members are supposed to ensure that we comply with the legislative framework for the Supreme Court, it is surprising and even worrisome to see that, to date, those members who should proudly and dutifully look after the interests of the people of the Atlantic provinces have been silent; the people of these provinces will remember their silence.
Since coming to power, this government has spouted rhetoric and claimed that it is transparent. However, I believe that it has a very elastic conscience when it comes to making decisions and being rigorous about upholding the law. The law, ethics, fairness, responsibility and, above all, moderation, are no longer the predominant values of this government.
The process for appointing justices to the Supreme Court is very rigorous. I had the privilege of participating in it in the past. The process must not only comply with the Constitution Act, 1867, and the Supreme Court Act, but it must also be non-partisan and highly confidential. The panel must give the Prime Minister a short list of candidates who are most qualified to be a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Obviously, it would be better if there were a lot of candidates from the Atlantic region in the next process. For the reasons I gave earlier, I believe that Atlantic Canada can give the Supreme Court a top-notch bilingual judge, who will not only be proficient in both official languages, but will also understand the nuances of expression and interpretations of common law in French.
This session of Parliament has just begun and we are already seeing that this government has not made any significant decisions since it took office almost a year ago. Even worse, this government is behaving like the grasshopper and having fun all over Canada and elsewhere in the world at the expense of Canadian taxpayers.
There have been many spending scandals: exorbitant relocation expenses of $200,000 for the chief of staff and the Prime Minister's best friend, limousine and room rentals for the work of certain ministers at prices that are just as exorbitant, and of course, the billions of dollars in debt that this government is unfortunately going to leave to future generations.
In passing, the Liberals are spending money that does not belong to them and one day it is going to run out.
Does anyone really believe them when they say they are non-partisan and transparent?
What if MPs from the Atlantic provinces hold little sway with their government, or not as much as they might have expected? What if the Prime Minister defies the law and fails in his duty to appoint a justice from the Atlantic provinces? How much will Canadian taxpayers be on the hook for if the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest court in the land, ends up having to rule on what the Liberal government is about to do? What a disgrace.
This government does whatever it pleases. That is a perversion of our democracy and our legislative system. We urge the Liberal government to show some respect, to continue selecting justices from among the most talented and experienced people on the benches of Canadian courts, and to fill vacancies in the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, in keeping with the two laws I mentioned that govern the process, the Constitution Act, 1867, and the Supreme Court Act.
I am sure that, right now, there are many people who, like the members on this side of the House, are watching the Liberal government's every move. We hope that the Liberals will show some respect for the laws that ensure order and stability in Canada, not to mention for the 32 Liberal members from the Atlantic provinces, so as to maintain public confidence in an institution as important as the Supreme Court of Canada.