Justice Minister David Lametti speaks to reporters after a meeting of the Liberal caucus in Ottawa, Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Lametti says changes made in the Senate to legislation creating a new process for investigating complaints against federal judges are contrary to strengthening the oversight of judicial misconduct in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Justice Minister David Lametti says the government will reject the Senate’s amendments to a judicial oversight bill, arguing that the changes would do the opposite of what the bill is trying to accomplish.
Bill C-9 would amend the Judges Act to create a new process for the Canadian Judicial Council to review misconduct allegations that are not serious enough to warrant a judge’s removal.
The House of Commons had unanimously passed the bill, which would also clarify when a judge can be removed and change the way the council reports its recommendations to the minister.
Lametti’s office says his goal is to pass legislation to reform the judicial misconduct process because the current system is outdated, inefficient and costly.
The Senate’s amendments, which are now before the House, deal with how complaints can be dismissed, who sits on the panel deciding how discipline should be dealt and how decisions can be appealed.
The process for complaints against judges garnered heightened attention earlier this year when the council announced it was reviewing a complaint against Supreme Court Justice Russell Brown, who remains on leave pending the review.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023.
