New process to select representatives of the general public on Judicial Advisory Committees

The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that the process for appointing judges to superior courts is open, transparent and accountable to Canadians, and promotes greater diversity on the bench.

As part of this commitment, the Government will immediately implement measures aimed at strengthening the process. This includes launching a new process to select representatives of the general public on Judicial Advisory Committees (JACs).

Open and transparent process for selecting general public members of JACs

To ensure Canadians who are not necessarily part of the legal community have a role in the judicial appointments process, each JAC will include three members who represent the general public. They can be lawyers or non-lawyers.

These members will now be selected through an open and transparent application process.  This process aims to ensure that the general public is represented by outstanding individuals that reflect the diversity of Canadians.

Applications are currently being accepted through the process outlined here.

Improving public confidence in JACs

In order to ensure that JACs have the public confidence necessary to carry out their important task, current committees will be reconstituted through a standardized process. To this end:

• Entities responsible for nominating individuals to serve as members of JACs will be asked to take into account the need to ensure that JACs are representative of the diversity of Canada; and
• All members will be provided with training on diversity, unconscious bias, and assessment of merit.

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October 20, 2016
Department of Justice Canada