Indigenous top court pick likely is near, ex-PM says

But Kim Campbell says only a ‘tiny pool’ of qualified candidates is available

OTTAWA— Not now, but maybe next time.

That was the message sent Monday to Indigenous communities, lawyers, judges and advocates who had hoped in vain for a historic appointment of an Indigenous judge to the country’s top court last week.

Former prime minister Kim Campbell, who led the advisory board tasked with screening judicial candidates for the Supreme Court of Canada, told reporters “there are people who will be credible candidates in the coming rounds.”

“You know, it’s a tiny pool,” Campbell said. “The Indigenous Bar Association has 300 members. Some of them are not long enough in the bar.”

Asked whether there are currently qualified bilingual Indigenous judges sitting on lower courts, Campbell replied: “Not necessarily.”

Campbell said the government received 14 applications for the Supreme Court of Canada seat soon to be vacated by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

Six of the 14 applicants were women, she said. Campbell did not specifically break down the ethnicity of the candidates.

The advisory board interviewed eight candidates who could have served with distinction, Campbell said, but produced a short list of “three that we felt really were head and shoulders above the others.” She said there was no point in shortlisting five recommendations because it simply would have made more work for the prime minister, who makes the ultimate call.

Campbell tried to reassure New Democratic Party MP Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford), who questioned the absence of an Indigenous judge on the court, that the time soon will come.

“I have absolutely no doubt that there will be an Indigenous judge on the Supreme Court of Canada, an outstanding Indigenous judge that will not require any compromise in standards that are applied,” Campbell said.

“This will happen maybe in the next couple of rounds. It just sort of depends on . . . where the next appointments are, but I see them coming; I see them speaking French and they will take their place with great dignity and respect, and Canadians will be very excited at the quality they’ll bring to the court.”

French-language proficiency is no more a barrier to prospective Indigenous candidates than it is to non-Indigenous candidates, Campbell said. The bilingualism requirement “isn’t just a political gesture; it relates very directly to the work of the court,” she said, citing the need for judges to navigate complex files in French and not rely on translation.

The Supreme Court is “not a learning experience . . . you have to be able to hit the ground running,” she said.

Campbell said the board sought names from law-school deans, professors, chief justices, attorneys-general and others for Indigenous and other qualified candidates. When suggestions were made, Campbell wrote individuals to send the application and encourage them to apply.

“I don’t think there’s some great star that’s been left behind,” she said, but some may have needed “more encouragement.”

Asked if the search was flawed if it couldn’t produce a qualified Indigenous person from the West or North, Campbell said, “There are some very good people who didn’t apply.”

“And there are people that we are going to try and encourage to apply. There are people who are developing their capacities to be a candidate.”

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Sheilah Martin for the seat, to be vacated Dec. 15 when McLachlin retires after 28 years on the high-court bench.

Martin will appear Tuesday to answer questions herself.

Later, MacGregor said he was satisfied by Campbell’s response.