Wednesday, 19 October 2011 00:00
OTTAWA, October 19, 2011 – Senator Maria Chaput said today that she was extremely disappointed by the Prime Minister’s decision to appoint a unilingual Anglophone judge to Canada’s highest court.
“It’s not just a matter of principle”, explained the Senator. “The right of francophones to have access to a justice system of equal quality has been compromised by a decision that could easily have been avoided. As the two vacated seats were previously occupied by fluently bilingual judges, this appointment is regrettably an obvious step backwards for francophone Canadians”.
While congratulating the Prime Minister on the appointment of Justice Andromache Karakatsanis, who speaks both official languages, Senator Chaput said that the standard should always be to appoint bilingual judges. She mentioned an article recently written by Sébastien Grammond and Mark Power, who claim that many of the appellate judges from outside Quebec are bilingual or at least understand French. Since all judges are entitled to take French courses free of charge, it is reasonable to make bilingualism a non-negotiable condition for the appointment of a judge to the Supreme Court of Canada.
“The Supreme Court is not the place to learn French”, added Senator Chaput. “Given the critical role the Supreme Court plays in the life of all Canadians, it seems obvious that judges should not only be able to hear testimony and arguments in the two official languages, but also have access to all the legal doctrine on the matter before them. We also know that the Court is often called to comparatively study Canadian legislation in both official languages. An understanding of both official languages should therefore be required”.
The Senator also wondered whether a unilingual francophone judge could reasonably expect his or her name to appear on the list of twelve candidates proposed by the Justice Minister to the selection panel. “While not a desirable option, this unlikely scenario highlights the absurdity of the current system. The message being sent is clear: while our two official languages are, in theory, equal, one is a bit more equal than the other,” Senator Chaput said.
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To arrange an interview with the Senator, please contact:
Suzanne Belliveau at 613-943-2435 or by email
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