Justice committee  You have raised some interesting questions to which there is no easy answer. Earlier you suggested that the Committee's report be tabled directly before Parliament, rather than with the government. However, that could run counter to constitutional practice, according to which mon

Justice committee  I agree with you that we need a broader basis of comparison. In Quebec, the legal profession also includes notaries. I know a great many notaries, particularly some young ones, who don't have a very high income, compared to what lawyers earn. If you take that into account, as you

Justice committee  You are right; it will be difficult to apply as is. Some nuance is necessary that is, unfortunately, missing in the commission's report.

Justice committee  When the Supreme Court uses the word “negotiation”, it is referring to negotiation in the labour relations sense--in other words, collective bargaining. However, to my knowledge, there is relatively little collective bargaining of working conditions elsewhere in the world. Howev

Justice committee  On that point, the advisory commission process is an attractive one. There is different input. The Department of Justice develops a compensation policy for everyone involved in the administration of justice, be they public servants working for the department or other officials. B

Justice committee  However, the Supreme Court said it had to be justified, and therefore, reasonable. It did not provide comprehensive details as regards that rationale. That is a government responsibility. I believe the government has to consider its overall political responsibilities. On the oth

Justice committee  It was Bodner, yes.

Justice committee  Yes.

Justice committee  You are right to wonder about this and doubt the relevance of such a statement. You are right that the entire legal profession must be considered. You talked about a lawyer with ten years' experience earning $50,000 or $75,000. She may be excellent and may be doing remarkable wo

Justice committee  In terms of performance evaluation, that is something that is done for administrative tribunals--in other words, people working [Inaudible--Editor], and it is an accepted practice. It is also an accepted practice in the United States. For judges, I believe that some felt--and th

Justice committee  That is my analysis of the entire system invented or proposed by the Supreme Court based on an unwritten, underlying constitutional principle. The system in itself, if the Commission has an advisory function, is perfectly valid and defensible. But from there to force Parliament t

Justice committee  I do not believe with the 1997 reference, the Supreme Court caused a constitutional revolution or that it in any way set aside the principle of the separation of powers. It said that in addition to the democratic principle and other constitutional principles, there is the princip

Justice committee  I have read a number of rulings where appear courts and Superior Court justices have attempted to define the criterion of simple rationality, what is reasonable. But where a compensation policy is concerned, it's more complex. There is a need to consider a number of political an

Justice committee  I'm sorry, I didn't pick up your question.

Justice committee  I am inclined to link that to the perception of independence, something that was raised on this side of the table. The process that the Commission engaged in was perfectly appropriate. I believe the Association had asked for a 17% increase. The Commission, which relied on serious