Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 29 burgh and Belfast, he notes, as has the Court of Appeal of Quebec and in British Columbia. Access to justice also means more investment in the justice system, and the Supreme Court's decision in R. v. Jordan in 2016, which outlined timeframes for hearings in criminal cases, sent "a very strong message to governments, to invest in justice systems, and they did," Wagner says, adding, "It's a work in progress." With his appointment to the office of chief justice of Canada, Wagner also became head of the Canadian Judicial Council, and he anticipates turning his attention to the reform of judicial conduct matters as well. He also told his nominating committee that he sup- ports hearings for judges to federally appointed courts. Representing Canadian judiciary at home and abroad, the chief justice of Canada presides not only over its Supreme Court but over the Canadian Judicial Council (comprising 39 chief justices and associate chief justices of Canada's superior courts, the senior judges of the territorial courts and the chief justice of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada), the Order of Canada and the National Judicial Institute (the educational body in Canada for federally appointed judges). All these tasks are added to the existing duties as a judge, and the Supreme Court's docket for the fall includes a trilogy of standard-of-review cases in December. Protocol responsibilities include receiving visiting judges and representing Canada in the world. Within the past six months, there have been regular meetings with foreign delegations and with the United States every three years. And that suits Wagner, who sees Canada as a standard bearer for the rule of law. "Our judicial system is looked [up to] by many countries, and we should not undermine this advantage," he says. "We're the only Supreme Court in the world that is bilingual and bijural; we have a Charter of Rights," which is not found very often internationally, he says. "That's why many other Supreme Courts in the world will look at us and our jurisprudence" for guidance. Here and now Not surprisingly, Canada's new chief justice describes his current schedule as "very busy," although with new tasks that are challeng- ing and interesting, he says. Those who know him well say he is a hard worker who has a zest for living as well. Charles Wagner describes his father as a man who has worked very hard in his life but who relishes time with his family, whose support has helped him achieve his success. "My father was — and still is — supported by his close relatives," he says. And his father imbued a love of the law in both his children: Wagner's daughter, Catherine, also trained as a lawyer and is cur- rently in charge of client development for the Centre d'accès à l'information juridique, which her father helped to found. Wagner's spouse, Catherine Mandeville, is also a jurist, a Quebec Superior Court justice currently sitting in Gatineau. Whenever the chief justice is in Montreal or nearby, says Wagner's son, "he visits us and his grandchildren [Juliette, age six, Charlotte, age four and Charles's daughter Agathe, six months]." Those visits are important to his children and grandchildren and "very important to him," says Charles. (Wagner himself describes with pleasure his first game of golf with his eldest grandchild the previous day: "She was better than me in the sand trap!" he jokes.) "I find that it grounds him a little and brings him back to . . . the family and to the core values." Those values include what Wagner learned from his own father. "My grandfather [Claude Wagner] was really rigorous as well," Charles says, and "really respectful toward everyone," which Wag- ner imparted to his own children. "I learned from him that you have to respect everyone," Charles says: clients, judges, other lawyers, court staff, "everyone. And you'll be respected as well. That's the good value I learned from my father." That's also in line with how former colleagues describe the chief justice: charming, acces- sible, generous and "very frank and transparent," according to Doray, who describes Wagner's visit to his old law firm offices several months ago, where he met with the young lawyers. "They were so excited," says Doray, "because it was [shortly] after being appointed chief jus- tice of Canada, and he met the young lawyers without anyone else attending — partners or older lawyers. He just wanted to meet with them and chat with them. They posed questions, and he was answering" all of them. Wagner has "very, very good interpersonal skills," Bourque says. "He can have a conversation with anybody; he makes people com- fortable." And despite his success, she says, "he's remained the same. I've known him for the past 13 years, and my relationship with Richard has not changed; he remains true to himself." Doray also remembers his former partner as enjoying life and reminisces about sitting with Wagner in one of their offices late in the day, enjoying a glass of wine and discussing travel or food. At the same time, he says, "His career was very successful, he was working hard, but he never showed his peers that he was tired or working too much." Kasirer describes his former bench mate as one of the hardest- working people he has ever met. On the Court of Appeal, he and Wagner "had come from different worlds." Wagner came from a private commercial law practice and Kasirer from McGill, where he had been dean of law and a law professor for many years. "The two of us would be [at the court] late at night and found ourselves working together, with different backgrounds, but which was a great advantage to both of us," Kasirer says. "He was excep- tionally generous to me." As for how Wagner himself would like to be remembered years from now, "I would hope that people will remember that I wanted the Supreme Court to be more accessible, more open," he says. "Our democracy depends on the level of trust that people have in the judicial system." "Our judicial system is looked [up to] by many countries, and we should not undermine this advantage. We're the only Supreme Court in the world that is bilingual and bijural; we have a Charter of Rights."

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