Minister asks for probe into judge’s conduct

In a rare step, Quebec’s Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée has asked the Quebec Court of Appeal to conduct an investigation into the conduct of Quebec Court Judge Peter Bradley.

The Court of Appeal said Friday the investigation will be held before a panel of five judges, presided by Judge Nicole Duval Hesler.

They must examine the conduct of Judge Bradley, then make a report to the minister, who will decide if the judge will be relieved of his functions or not.

At the beginning of February, the judicial council of Quebec, which oversees

The plaintiff was suing his neighbour and snow-clearing contractor for $472.45 in damages.

the conduct of provincial judges, recommended the dismissal of Judge Bradley. He is accused of refusing to hear a case about a simple argument over a fence and being too insistent that the parties negotiate an agreement between themselves.

The plaintiff in the case was suing his neighbour and a snow-clearing contractor for $472.45 in damages to the fence separating their two properties. After the court hearing, the plaintiff filed a complaint against the judge based on his refusal to hear the case and also on the nature of the exchanges and the tone of voice the judge used, considered hostile by the plaintiff.

According to the judicial review board’s investigative committee, Judge Bradley failed to fulfil his obligations by refusing to proceed with the case.

For his part, Bradley told the committee he thought the law is obliged to favour conciliation between parties and it was his duty to pursue that course. The committee responded that one must offer conciliation as an avenue, but not force it.

The recommendation for dismissal is severe, but the committee said it was justified because Bradley has been denounced for similar conduct in the past.

Demands for dismissal of judges named by the government of Quebec are rare: Judge Bradley is only the seventh judge to have been the subject of a dismissal recommendation since 1978.