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 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4 29 hoc by the federal government. There is no known structure or criteria behind the selection process. It was a curious addi- tion touted as part of its law-and-order agenda, but considered more than a little at odds with the idea of the judiciary and the police having very separate and sometimes opposing agendas. According to the web site of the Office of the Commis- sioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada, "independent judicial advisory committees constitute the heart of the appointments process." MacKay has also emphasized the "independence" of the committees as a shield against the charge of political med- dling. In 2007, however, the Canadian Judicial Council itself complained about the introduction of the changes in a strongly worded press release pointing out "the majority of voting mem- bers are now appointed by the minister" and the judicial appoint- ments advisory committees "may neither be, nor be seen to be, fully independent of the government." Nothing has changed to the committees' structure since that criticism was raised. It also needs to be emphasized that unlike jurisdictions like Ontario, where the attorney general must choose from a com- mittee list that can contain as few as two names, the federal appointment decision rests entirely with the minister of justice. Federal committee recommendations are not ranked, but are sim- ply marked "recommended" or "unable to recommend." Federally it is possible for the minister of justice to order "off the menu" so to speak, and make his own appointments without a reference, or with a perfunctory one, to an appointments committee. Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant is more blunt about where the decision is actually made: "the responsibility for judicial appointments is well entrenched in the PMO." A brief review of the minister of justice's picks for his allot- ment of 52 of the seats on the 17 committees shows a very eclec- tic mix of appointments. Sprinkled among the handful of retired judges, QCs, and lawyers, the public lists of federal nominees to the committees have a number of individuals who are surpris- ingly hard to learn anything about, as no bios or other informa- tion are attached to the names. Others are easier to find. In Manitoba, one of the minister's appointments is Marni Larkin, who raised eyebrows about her qualifications when she was also appointed in 2012 to a five-year term on the board of the CBC. Larkin served as a strategist and organizer for the Pro- gressive Conservatives in Manitoba during the 2011 provincial election. Also on the Manitoba committee as a representative of the federal minister of justice is John Tropak, who the Winnipeg Free Press described as "a well-known Manitoba Conservative campaign worker," and in an April 2013 article further suggested was a likely future Conservative Senate appointment. The Facebook page of one maritime appointments commit- tee member shows the friend in her first slot is Peter MacKay's mother. Another committee member is the director of HR and legal affairs of a city in the Maritimes, is active in the local Conser- vative riding association, and regularly posts pro-Harper govern- ment/anti-Justin Trudeau tweets on his Twitter account. There is one federal appointment committee member who has had careers as a former SWAT-team member, Crown prosecutor, and church minister. Another is the former chairman of the Canadian Hockey Association. Several lawyer appointments have obvious connec- tions to Conservative families. Curiously, some of the lawyer members who sit in review of future judges are quite junior with fewer than 10 years of practice under their belts. While many of these appointments also show community involvement, it is hard to see what qualifies them to assist in the selection of judges as the appointed representatives of the federal government. There are no useful guidelines or published selection procedures for their appointment, giving the justice minister the freest hand possible in making the appointments to the com- mittees. At least one committee member I spoke to had no idea himself how he had been selected. Breaking down the composition of the appointments commit- tees by gender, there are currently 121 individuals sitting on the 17 committees, 30 are women, accounting for 24.8 per cent of the sitting members overall (not including 12 current vacancies). The federal justice minister is responsible for directly appointing a total of 52 committee members (three per regional committee, and not including their law enforcement appointee). Of the full comple- ment of 52 ministerial appointments to the committees (six of which are vacant), only nine are women (17.3 per cent). Agreeing with academics like Cairns Way and Crandall, who have studied the issue closely, former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler draws a direct line from the fact that "women are severely under-represented on these committees themselves" to a resultant lack of women on the bench. If women are under-represented at only 17.3 per cent within the federal appointments to these committees, a search for visible minorities sitting on them appears even more problematic. In What do your clients need? The means to move on. Guaranteed ™ . Baxter Structures customizes personal injury settlements into tax-free annuities that can help your clients be secure for life. 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