MacKay foray into judicial debate almost laughable
They could have picked a better poster boy.
Tuesday, former Conservative justice minister Peter MacKay stepped into the public battle over the appointment of judges in general – calling delays in the process “a national failure.” Then, in particular, he made his way into the fracas over whether tradition will be maintained and an Atlantic Canadian jurist selected as the next justice of the Supreme Court. (He did it in an op-ed in the National Post – a newspaper, by the way, that you can’t buy on paper east of Montreal.)
A former justice minister, talking about the failure of the federal government to appoint the best judicial candidates in the most timely way. Sounds like a great catch: in this case, though, it’s a particularly sooty pot lamenting a lack of kettle cleanliness.
Here’s a little contrast for you. Here’s a sliver of MacKay’s op-ed: “Judicial vacancies must be filled in a timely fashion. The failure to do so now has senior judges in many courts, Justice Ministry officials and constitutional experts concerned that courts may not be able to meet their constitutional obligation to give trial dates within a reasonable time.”
Match that with this, from the Globe and Mail, during a period that included time when MacKay was justice minister: “During the almost 10 years the Conservative government has been in power, judicial vacancies have often been at record levels, usually hovering around 50, according to figures from the Office of the Commissioner
for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada.” And: “The Conservatives also left the Supreme Court short one judge for an unprecedented 10 months and did not fill the job of Ontario chief justice for six months. As a result, some courts have struggled to meet the demand for access to justice. In Quebec, civil trials expected to take longer than 25 days must be booked four years in advance, Superior Court Chief Justice François Rolland said in his annual public address last September.”
Yet MacKay now opines, “The inevitable result of these vacancies is less access to justice and more criminals walking free, potentially endangering the public.”
Another line from Mr. MacKay? “The ultimate goal remains, as it must, quality and legal excellence above all else.”
Hold that thought, and then consider the research done by Press Progress, a news site connected to the Broadbent Institute, which pointed out in 2015 that six of nine Supreme court justices appointed by MacKay were directly and personally connected to him.
As the CBC reported then, the appointments included: “Josh Arnold, a friend who served as best man at MacKay’s 2012 wedding. He was also a regular financial donor to the Central Nova Progressive Conservative Association from 2008 to 2010. Cindy Cormier, Arnold’s wife and a friend of MacKay’s. James Chipman, a past president of the Conservative Party’s Halifax West riding association and regular donor to the Central Nova Conservative Association from 2008 to 2010. Ted Scanlan, a past president of the Central Nova riding association and a former campaign manager for Elmer MacKay, Peter MacKay’s father. Jeffrey Hunt, former executive vice-president of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Association. (And) LouAnn Chiasson, a colleague of MacKay’s at the Dalhousie Law School.” MacKay’s riding? Central Nova. Heck, MacKay even got into his own battle with the Supreme Court of Canada, when the top court rejected a Harper government pick for the court as ineligible.
So now we’re supposed to accept as sage advice a mantra that MacKay didn’t even follow when he had the power and opportunity to deliver on?
How short does Mr. MacKay think our collective memories actually are?
NOTE TO READERS: Russell Wangersky will be away for several coming weeks. Eastern Passages will return Tuesday, Sept. 27.