KIRK MAKIN
GLOBE AND MAIL UPDATE
April 9, 2008 at 2:44 PM EDT
OTTAWA -- One of the Supreme Court of Canada's most senior and prolific judges - Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache - shocked the legal world this afternoon by announcing that he will retire at the end of the Court's spring session, on June 30.
In a release, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin gave no reason for Judge Bastarache's departure with almost 15 years left before he would reach the mandatory retirement age of 75.
However, speculation in the legal community centred around his health, which has prevented Judge Bastarache from sitting on several cases recently. In addition, rumours have circulated for several months that Judge Bastarache was no longer enjoying his work as much as he once had.
Judge Bastarache's retirement will launch the federal government into a search for a replacement from among the Atlantic provinces. It will also renew a long-standing debate over the manner in which Supreme Court judges are chosen and vetted.
Chief Justice McLachlin said yesterday that she is hopeful to have his replacement on the court by the time it begins its fall session, next October.
"Justice Bastarache has served on the Court with wisdom, and made enormous contributions to the Court and to Canada," Chief Justice McLachlin added. "He is a valued colleague and a friend, who will be missed by all the members of the Court."
Judge Bastarache said simply: "It is a great honour and privilege to be asked to be a member of the Supreme Court of Canada. There are but a small number of jurists who have had the opportunity to serve their country in this capacity, and to have had the chance to participate so directly in the development of the law. I am extremely grateful for the privilege of serving as a member of the Court.
Appointed from the New Brunswick Court of Appeal in 1997, Judge Bastarache quickly established himself as a hard-working judge with expertise in constitutional law, administrative law and minority language cases.
"I am extremely surprised by this," said Robert Jette, a veteran New Brunswick lawyer. "The fact that his retirement comes as a surprise to senior practitioners tells you something."
Mr. Jette said that there has been little talk about prospective Supreme Court appointments in the region, since it was generally assumed that it would be at least another decade before such an appointment would be made.
Most members of the legal community interviewed today felt it is unlikely that the nominees will come from New Brunswick, by virtue of the fact that Judge Bastarache, as well as the judge he replaced - Mr. Justice Gerard LaForest - both came from the province.
However, Philip Bryden, dean of law at the University of New Brunswick, said that the government may feel obliged to look to the province again if the quality of its candidates are noticeably superior to those in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
"He has been a tremendously hard-working judge," Dean Bryden said of Judge Bastarache. "He was very bright, and very able. He sticks out - along with Chief Justice McLachlin and Justice [Ian] Binnie as being core members of the Court who have made a most productive contribution.
"To my way of thinking, he has certainly been somebody who the New Brunswick legal community can be proud of."
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
1 comment:
I think that we can assume that there will be a Panel to vet his appointment, like there was with Justice Rothstein. I doubt that it wil be particularly controversial this time around.
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