Government of Canada releases report following the appointment of Justice Nicholas Kasirer to the Supreme Court of Canada

News release

September 10, 2019 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Justice Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is recognized nationally and internationally for its excellence. To continue  to improve upon this tradition, in 2016 the Government introduced an open and transparent process to appoint a justice of the highest calibre who would be functionally bilingual and representative of the diversity of our great country. It is this process that led to the appointment of Justice Nicholas Kasirer to the Supreme Court of Canada on August 7, 2019. 

In keeping with the openness and transparency of the new process, the Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments for Quebec Seats was required to submit its report on the selection process to the Government of Canada within a month of the appointment of Justice Kasirer.

On September 5, 2019, the Chair of the Advisory Board, the Right Honourable Kim Campbell, provided the Government with its Report on the 2019 Process.

The report includes, among other things:

  • a detailed description of the meetings, review process and recommendation process of the Advisory Board;
  • a summary of consultations and outreach activities by the Advisory Board;
  • statistics about the demographics of applicants; and
  • the Advisory Board's recommendations on improvements to the appointment process and the work of the Advisory Board.

The report can be found on the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs’ website.

Quick facts

  • The Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments was first established in August 2016. It is an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate is to provide non-binding, merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Supreme Court of Canada appointments. The members of the Advisory Board for Quebec Seats were announced in May 2019.

  • Under the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Canada and Quebec, the independent and non-partisan Advisory Board for this process is composed of eight members, all of whom must be functionally bilingual.

  • The Advisory Board is supported by the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.

  • Upon receiving the shortlist of potential nominees, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, undertook a careful, rigorous and thorough process of review and consultation.

  • On July 25, 2019, the Minister and the Chair of the Advisory Board appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to discuss the nomination. Details of the hearings are available from the Standing Committee's homepage.

  • On July 25, 2019, the nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada participated in a moderated question-and-answer session before parliamentarians.

Associated links

Contacts

For more information, media may contact:

Rachel Rappaport
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-6568
rachel.rappaport@justice.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca

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