Liberals face challenge over seat on Top Court

East Coast wants to keep regional representation

• A group that represents trial lawyers in Atlantic Canada is taking Ottawa to court in a bid to ensure the East Coast keeps its traditional seat on the Supreme Court of Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said regional representation among the judges is important, but he won’t commit to ensuring the country’s top court has a judge from Atlantic Canada as he seeks other kinds of diversity.

The Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association said Monday it was seeking an order from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court that would require the federal government to amend the Constitution if it wants to drop regional representation as constitutional convention.

Such a change would require unanimous consent of the provinces, the association said.

“This is a serious matter engaging issues of constitutional interpretation, federalism and protecting the representation of Atlantic Canada on this country’s highest court,” association president Cynthia Taylor said in a statement.

Justice Thomas Cromwell from Nova Scotia has retired from the bench, but Trudeau appears to be departing from the convention of automatically filling that place with another judge from the region.

The next appointee will not necessarily come from Atlantic Canada, the association said, citing comments made by Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on Aug. 11.

The Canadian Bar Association has already urged Trudeau to respect the regional appointment custom.

Later this month, a new non-partisan advisory board is expected to recommend to the prime minister a list of three to five candidates who are qualified, functionally bilingual and representative of the diversity of Canada.

The seven-member panel is led by former prime minister Kim Campbell.

It is expected to review candidates from across the country.

As grounds for the court application, the association argues that the absence of a judge from one of the four Atlantic provinces would “fundamentally change the long-standing composition of Canada’s highest court.”

“This application concerns an issue of substantial importance for the people of our region,” Taylor said.

Trudeau has said his Liberal government is weighing several factors as it considers the next vacancy on the court.

Last month, he said his government is “folding in all sorts of different aspects to get the best possible people to sit on the Supreme Court.”

“Having the perspective from Atlantic Canada is an extremely important one, and we’re looking forward to making sure we make the right choice,” Trudeau said.