JUSTICE MINISTER SEEKS TO REMOVE QUEBEC JUDGE

Justice Minister David Lametti says he will seek parliamentary approval to remove a Quebec judge from the bench after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the judge’s appeal. A 2012 complaint alleged Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel Girouard, pictured, while he was still a lawyer, had bought illegal drugs from a client. An inquiry committee rejected the allegations but cited contradictions and implausibilities in Girouard’s testimony. A second complaint about Girouard’s credibility during the initial proceedings led a majority of judges on the council to recommend he lose his job. The Federal Court and the Court of Appeal dismissed Girouard’s attempts to overturn the recommendation, prompting his application to the Supreme Court.