Justice committee  If you've travelled in the northern communities, you know they have their own particular challenges and their own diversity. Again, it was part of our terms of reference because this search led to the north. One of our members, Sheila MacPherson, who represents the Federation of

Justice committee  Already people in the legal community are taking it upon themselves to encourage people to apply. Last year, I remember a number of candidates saying, “I wasn't going to apply, but my colleagues said I ought to.” That makes it a lot easier. I understand that modesty, and it's no

Justice committee  Only those who were interviewed did that test, and more were than weren't. When we put out our report, I think there'll be some indications of the results of the test.

Justice committee  The minister talked to the attorneys general, yes.

Justice committee  Thank you.

Justice committee  Yes, you do.

Justice committee  That's a good question. Sometimes it comes out in the things that other people write about them, or things their references say, but also we ask them. We ask about their experience working collaboratively. Those who sit on appellate courts have that experience. Those who have sa

Justice committee  In terms of the courts, issues have to come before the courts as cases. What the understanding of judges brings is a sense of the lived experience of those who are the litigants, and that, I think, is crucial. I think much of the follow-up of the TRC will not involve the courts.

Justice committee  It was almost three times as long because it was 63 days, so it was a much longer process. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that it was limited geographically and in a region that's very far from Ottawa. It's something we have to take into account. The Supreme Court

Justice committee  Thanks. That's a great question. First of all, each of us looked at all the applications individually without communicating with one another, so there was no groupthink in our discussions. We each looked at the candidates because different people might respond to a different asp

Justice committee  I'd like to make sure we had a little more time. It's been great that there's been more time for the candidates. I don't think we rushed the work in a negative way, but it was sometimes hard for us to be able to find the time when we could all be together and do justice to the pr

Justice committee  I have absolutely no doubt that there will be an indigenous judge on the Supreme Court of Canada—an outstanding indigenous judge who will not require any compromise in the standards that are applied. The pool of indigenous lawyers in Canada is still very small. When I was the fir

Justice committee  Last year, we identified all the organizations that represent lawyers of particular ethnicities, interests, or whatever, and we approached them again this year. This year, we felt that there was a better general knowledge out in the legal community about the process that was taki

Justice committee  Sure, I'll have to look.

Justice committee  I can tell you, six women.