Jody Wilson-Raybould

[Justice, April 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to stand up. I assume that the question is speaking to the delays in court. I am very mindful of the Jordan decision that came out of the Supreme Court of Canada, and I am working toward having a meeting with my counterparts in the provinces and territories to discuss the delays in our courts. There is no one reason why there are delays in our courts, but the provinces, the territories, and I are working in a coordinated manner to ensure that we come up with solutions that have not been come up with for decades. This is a commitment that I have made, and a commitment that my counterparts have made, and I look forward to reporting on the solutions that we are going to be bringing forward.

[Justice, April 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy again to stand up to speak about the open and transparent process that we have instituted for the appointment of superior court justices. In the time I have been minister, I have appointed 47 superior court justices, including 22 deputy justices. There are six vacancies in the province of Quebec, which accounts for about 3.6% of the judicial complement. I am working extremely hard to ensure that substantive candidates are appointed to the superior courts on an ongoing basis.

[Justice, April 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, our government has taken significant steps, in an open and transparent process, to appoint superior court justices. We have appointed three justices in Quebec. Just to be clear, there are six vacancies in the province of Quebec, and we are working very hard to appoint judges in the very near future. The process we have instituted is a merit-based process to ensure diversity in the courts. I look forward to making those appointments in the near future.

[Justice, April 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, again, I am very pleased to stand to speak about the appointments process that we have instituted. We are taking a careful, considered, and thoughtful approach in terms of looking at the appointments of superior court justices across the country. It is open. It is transparent. We have invited applications from across the country. I am very pleased about the superior court appointments that I have made and the additional appointments that I will continue to make to ensure that we fill the vacancies right across the country.

[Justice, April 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to stand again to speak about the open and transparent process for the appointment of superior court judges across the country. We have reconfigured the judicial advisory committees which are going to be providing highly recommended names for my consideration for appointments to the superior courts. This is to ensure that the individuals who sit on our benches across the country reflect the diversity of our country and are merit-based. I am very pleased to continue on an ongoing basis to announce additional appointments to the superior courts. Some are coming imminently.

[Privacy, April 7th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the use of the devices that were the subject of media reports earlier this week are being investigated by CSIS and the RCMP. We take any allegations of unauthorized and illegal use very seriously.

Like any technical investigative tool, the use of these devices by Canadian law enforcement and intelligence agencies is governed by the law, governed by the charter, and subject to judicial control. CSIS and the RCMP assess the legal and privacy issues involved on an ongoing basis to ensure they are operating in accordance with the law.

[Justice, April 4th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to stand up to speak about the new judicial appointments process that our government has instituted to ensure openness and transparency.

I am pleased to talk about the new judicial advisory committees we have put in place to ensure that our judiciary reflects the diversity of Canada and is merit-based. We have made substantive appointments to the superior courts, and we will continue to do so.

[Justice, April 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, again, our government is committed to moving forward with the legalization of cannabis, strictly regulating and restricting access to it.

Simply decriminalizing it would not achieve the objectives that we have put forward in a concrete way, in terms of keeping it out of the hands of children and the proceeds out of the hands of criminals.

We have brought together experts in the area of public health, safety, and justice to ensure that we are proceeding on a comprehensive and responsible basis when we are going to be moving forward with the introduction of legislation.

[Justice, April 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, our government, as we have said all along, is committed to legalization of cannabis: strict regulation, and restricting access.

We are going to be moving forward and are moving forward in a comprehensive and responsible way. Simply decriminalizing it will not achieve the objectives of keeping it out of the hands of children, and the proceeds out of the hands of criminals.

We will be moving forward, as I said, in a responsible way. Simply decriminalizing, to use the words of the member for Outremont, would be a mistake.

[Justice, March 22nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, decisions such as this are made by the Public Prosecution Service, which is independent of government. I will say that there are still charges pending in this case.

Further to that, I will use this opportunity to again talk about the reforms that we are making and the comprehensive review of the criminal justice system that we are undertaking, including sentencing reform and looking at bail reform. We introduced an open and transparent process for judges to ensure public safety, respect for victims, and respect for the charter. I look forward to continuing this work.