National Post (National Edition)
Panel explains how Justice Rowe chosen
OT T AWA • The Liberals brought Parliament and Canadians back into the loop Monday on Supreme Court appointments, revealing new Justice Malcolm Rowe was selected from 31 applicants for his stellar legal experience, deep knowledge and insights about Canada and willingness to work with others.
When an independent advisory board interviewed Rowe, 63, in September, “we immediately thought, ‘Whoa, this guy’s a superstar,’ ” Kim Campbell, the former Conservative prime minister who chaired the se- lection advisory committee, told the House of Commons justice committee.
“The breadth of his understanding of the country … was important to us. When the members of the Supreme Court are sitting talking about an issue, are there things that are not being said because nobody knows about them?”
Collegiality was another crucial qualification.
“One of the things about the Supreme Court of Canada is that, if you can’t work with other people, it’s very destructive,” said Campbell, who was sitting beside Justice Minister Jody WilsonRaybould.
“You don’t want groupthink, you want people who bring a strong point of view, but if in a decision there are a lot of different judgments, that’s chaos for the courts and the people below who have to rely on it.”
Of the 31 applicants, slightly fewer than half were women and most had some proficiency in French. There was no shortage of strong candidates from Atlantic Canada — two were on the short list — and a “broad diversity” among the others, said Campbell.
Ten people were interviewed, and five made it on to a short list given to Wilson-Raybould. She gave the list and her recommended (and still confidential) pick to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Campbell’s praise for the new selection process was exceeded only by her praise for the quality of applicants. ‘There was a really wonderful richness,” she said.
In briefing the sevenmember advisory group, the government emphasized the hunt for a replacement for Justice Thomas Cromwell, seen as occupying Atlantic Canada’s seat on the court, should recognize Canadians’ social diversity. The stipulation ignited a political uproar in the region, which has traditionally had a representative occupying one of the court’s nine seats.
But Campbell believes the government’s instructions also sent a message to people thinking of applying, “that they should not be discouraged if they are members of a hitherto unrepresented social category.
“The fact of the matter is, especially in the legal profession, there is a lot of lack of diversity in many aspects of it. So the terms of reference were a clear message to the Canadian legal community that was reflected in the applications.”
Rowe is a St. John’s native, son of a fisherman, and Newfoundland and Labrador’s first Supreme Court justice. He has an eclectic background in government, the foreign service, private law, and was appointed to the bench in 1999. Most recently he has sat on the province’s highest court, the court of appeal.
Tuesday, he will answer questions at a joint session of the Commons’ justice committee, legal and constitutional affairs committee, as well as from Bloc Québécois and Green Party MPs and members of the public.
YOU WANT PEOPLE WHO BRING A STRONG POINT OF VIEW.