Liberals unveil new process for judicial appointments

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould appointed or promoted 24 judges Thursday as she unveiled sweeping changes to the way jurists in this country are appointed.

“We’re confident that it is going to result in (a) diversity of candidates putting their name forward,” Wilson-Raybould said of the overhauled appointment process, which had become a source of controversy in recent years.

The Liberal government had been under increasing pressure — including from Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin this summer — to fill empty seats on federal benches, a backlog that had climbed to 61 vacancies.

The situation in Alberta was becoming especially dire. Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Neil Wittman repeatedly warned that vacancies were causing trial delays, with wait times for criminal cases of more than a year — more than two years in civil matters.

In Edmonton earlier this month, the case of a man charged with murder in a prison stabbing was tossed out because it took more than five years for the trial to start — a violation of his right to have his case heard within a reasonable time.

The appointments will address “the urgent needs that we’ve heard from the chief justices in the respective provinces and territories, so that is going to assist with respect to having more resources in terms of judges on the bench,” Wilson-Raybould said.

The new Superior Courts appointments process will incorporate some elements of the new way of creating a shortlist of candidates to the Supreme Court of Canada.

That process, which includes requiring candidates to fill out a lengthy questionnaire, culminated earlier this week in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominating Justice Malcolm Rowe of St. John’s, N.L.