JUDGE HAS TO GO, MINISTER TOLD.
MONTREAL • A Quebec judge’s implausible explanation of his role in a surreptitious exchange that had all the markings of a drug deal should lead to his removal from the bench, the Canadian Judicial Council has recommended to federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.
Michel Girouard, named a Quebec Superior Court judge in 2010, has been under a cloud since 2012 when his name surfaced in a major police investigation targeting drug traffickers in his hometown of Val d’Or, Que.
But the decision announced Tuesday likely spells the end of his judicial career. Other judges facing similar recommendations in the past — most recently Robin Camp of Federal Court last year — have resigned before being forced out by the justice minister.
The council, made up of the most senior superior court justices in Canada, wrote that Girouard’s “integrity has been fatally compromised, public confidence in the judiciary has been undermined and the judge has become incapacitated or disabled from the due execution of his office.”
Two inquiry committees that held hearings into Girouard’s conduct, following an initial complaint from the chief justice of Quebec Superior Court, heard evidence of Girouard’s alleged cocaine use and saw a video of what police described as a cocaine purchase.
In the majority decision — three of the 23 judges considering the matter dissented — the council described the meeting recorded on a security camera in the back office of a video store owned by one of Girouard’s clients, who was later convicted of drug trafficking and gangsterism. The meeting took place two weeks before Girouard was appointed to the court.
Immediately upon entering his client’s office, Girouard tucked some banknotes under a pad on his desk. His client, who had earlier been seen carefully folding something inside a Post-it note and putting it in his right pocket, took an object out of his right pocket and put it on the desk.
“The judge took the object in his hand and immediately placed it in his pocket, without opening it. The client took the money that had been placed under the pad. The entire transaction took about 17 seconds,” the report says.
The review committee found Girouard to be an “unco-operative and obstinate witness” when he testified in his defence. The council says it heard no rational explanation from Girouard of what occurred on the video. “We conclude he is simply unwilling to provide a truthful explanation,” it says.
That was sufficient for the council to recommend Girouard’s removal, and it did not proceed to consider two additional allegations involving witness testimony of Girouard using cocaine.
The three dissenting judges argue that Girouard’s right to a fair hearing was not respected because inquiry transcripts provided to council members were in French only, a language not spoken by “a significant number” of council members. The majority countered that having the inquiry reports and Girouard’s submissions in both official languages was sufficient to address the matter fairly.
Gérald R. Tremblay, a lawyer for Girouard, said his client has a challenge of the council procedures before Federal Court and is not ready to give up the fight. “No, no, no,” Tremblay said when asked whether Girouard intends to resign.
Norman Sabourin, executive director of the council, said it all comes down to the public’s confidence in a judge. “In this particular case, we think that public confidence in the judge has been irremediably lost,” he said.