Irwin Cotler's smoke-screen.

Ottawa -- Justice Minister Irwin Cotler has named a nine-member committee to help him select the next justice to the Supreme Court. In Canada, the process has been the sole prerogative of the Prime Minister and the Justice Minister, unlike in the U.S., where appointments to the Supreme Court are subject to close public scrutiny by the Senate (witness the recent rejection of Harriet Miers as a candidate). Canada's new committee has a very limited role and Conservative justice critic Vic Toews called the new process short on accountability and transparency. He noted the Commons' justice committee will still not be able to question a nominee.

Retired University of Toronto political science professor Peter Russell called the committee structure a "limited step forward" (Globe and Mail, Oct. 12, 2005). The National Post opined that the new process is "not enough. Canada's high-court appointment method remains unacceptably opaque" (Oct. 13, 2005).

Comment:

Needless to say, Cotler denied that political considerations influence who presides over Canadian courts (Nat. Post, Oct. 26, 2005), when the exact opposite is the truth. The Liberals simply will not share their power of appointment, or submit them to a process of public scrutiny, whether in the judiciary, Crown corporations, Senate or any other post. (See also, "The intemperate Mr. Cotler," C.I., March 2005.)