Top court gets first N.L. judge
Malcolm Rowe appointment to end selection controversy
OTTAWA— Malcolm Rowe, a Newfoundland appeals judge and an avid kayaker and sailor, is used to weathering stormy seas.
The 63-year-old sometimes takes risks. His paddling companions say he advises caution when doing so.
Now Rowe’s surprise nomination Monday to the Supreme Court of Canada — Newfoundland’s first appointee to the top court — will calm troubled waters for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
By naming Rowe, an expert in constitutional and public law and a bilingual jurist, Trudeau ends the controversy over his decision to conduct a national search to fill a judicial seat usually reserved for an Atlantic Canadian. Rowe will occupy the seat left vacant by Justice Thomas Cromwell of Nova Scotia, who retired in September.
For his first pick for the top court, Trudeau had said he wanted more “diverse” candidates and had imposed bilingualism as a new job requirement. He angered aboriginal critics who said this ruled out an indigenous candidate and prompted outrage in legal and government circles in Atlantic Canada, where many demanded Trudeau retain “regional representation” on the country’s final court of appeal.
The Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association went to court, arguing Trudeau was attempting a unilateral and unconstitutional change to one of Canada’s foundational institutions. Association president Cynthia Taylor said Monday the challenge would be dropped once Rowe’s nomination is finalized — after he fields questions from MPs and senators on Oct. 25 — “because there is no need for it” anymore.
In a written statement on Monday, Trudeau wrote: “I am greatly excited to announce the nomination of Mr. Justice Malcolm Rowe, whose remarkable depth of legal experience in criminal, constitutional and public law will complement the extensive knowledge of the other Supreme Court justices.”
The nomination of Rowe is the first step in the appointment process — which Trudeau’s government revamped — but the outcome is all but certain.