It is fully expected in Canada that the reigning political party in control of the federal government, with its ability to appoint federal Judges, will appoint Judges that the government believes will likely accept the philosophy of the federal government on issues that will come before the courts. Every federal government in power since the country’s inception has appointed Judges that it believed respected and endorsed the government’s policies on social issues.
From 2006 to November 2015 the Conservative party held power in Canada. The Conservatives appointed approximately 600 of the 850 full-time federally appointed Judges. This amounts to 75% of the Judges presently sitting in the provincial superior courts, appeal courts, federal courts and tax courts. Simultaneously, the Conservative party has continually advanced what it described as its, “Get Tough on Crime” agenda. The government’s agenda was to appoint Judges who supported and advanced its agenda of removing rights for the accused, strengthening rights for alleged victims, and, providing for much harsher penalties, including minimum mandatory jail terms.
The Supreme Court of Canada, however, struck down or at least “read down” several of the government’s crime laws, reducing the severity of their impact and supporting the rights of the accused when the government’s new legislation sought to limit or remove those rights.
The vast majority of the judicial appointments since 2006 had been persons known to support the Conservative party’s crime agenda. In the process, entire categories of potential candidates, notably criminal defence lawyers and civil libertarians were overlooked. The federal government had been openly critical of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The former prime minister said the Charter protects the rights of accused persons while abusing the rights of victims.
The above is the an excerpt of Patrick J Ducharme’s book, Canadian Criminal Procedure, available at Amazon or in bulk through MedicaLegal Publishing along with Criminal Trial Strategies.
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