Aging Supreme Court poised for change

[GAP]

Aging Supreme Court poised for change

With 7 out of 9 judges eligible to retire, Harper could have an historic opportunity to appoint a majority of the court
By Cristin Schmitz, The Ottawa CitizenFebruary 20, 2010
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper is positioned to do something U.S. President Barack Obama can only dream of -- remake his nation's Supreme Court more to his liking.

Seven of the Supreme Court of Canada's nine members are now eligible (but not required) to retire, with an eighth eligible to go in 2011.

Harper has already made two well-received appointments to the court, but if he keeps his grip on power for another four years, he could appoint a majority of the court.

None of the judges has announced when he or she is going, but speculation is building in Canadian legal circles.

Closest to the mandatory retirement age of 75 are Quebec Justices Louis LeBel, 70, and Morris Fish, 71, and Ontario's Justice Ian Binnie, 70, the court's ranking senior justice, next to Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

All three judges were appointed by the Liberals.

Harper's first appointment, Justice Marshall Rothstein, 69, must also retire in fewer than six years, but it could be sooner since Supreme Court members rarely wait to the last minute to step down.

All in all, it adds up to an historic opportunity for Harper, or Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff if he wins the next election, to put an enduring stamp on the high court by naming three or four judges over the next few years.
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[GAP]

PM taps Ontario judges Karakatsanis, Moldaver for Supreme Court
kirk makin Globe and Mail Monday, Oct. 17, 2011
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper has moved to fill two Supreme Court of Canada vacancies by nominating Mr. Justice Michael Moldaver, an outspoken Ontario appellate judge with vast experience in criminal law, and a former senior civil servant – Madam Justice Andromake Karakatsanis.

Judge Karakatsanis, who is fluent in English, French and Greek, would be the Supreme Court’s first Greek-Canadian judge. Her appointment would forestall feminist criticism by maintaining the court’s complement of female judges at four.

Judge Moldaver’s nomination will be particularly applauded in the law enforcement community. It will also score points for Mr. Harper in the Jewish community, which he has courted politically.

“Both Justice Karakatsanis and Justice Moldaver’s candidacies were examined through a comprehensive process,” said Prime Minister Harper in a release. “Madam Justice Karakatsanis and Mr. Justice Moldaver are exceptional candidates who have the skills and qualifications necessary to serve Canadians as judges of the Supreme Court of Canada.”

A judge who typically does not believe in striking down legislation, Judge Moldaver has publicly decried a proliferation of litigation under the Charter of Rights. Both factors make him an ideal nominee for a government with an ambitious law and order agenda.

The slow-paced search to replace retiring judges Ian Binnie and Louise Charron must go through one final stage. They will appear before a parliamentary committee to answer questions from MPs on Wednesday.

The Parliamentary committee that will question them has no power to reject the nominees, so their appointment is virtually certain.

While neither appointee comes as a surprise, both are likely to come under criticism for certain perceived vulnerabilities.

Having spent her career as a top civil servant, Judge Karakatsanis has vast administrative experience but little in the realities of a law practice. Her career on the bench has been short and she has produced little in the way of significant or memorable jurisprudence.

Her nomination is also likely to come under fire because of her close connections to powerful Conservatives – most notably, Finance Minister James Flaherty, with whom she worked closely when he was Ontario’s attorney-general.
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