By Canadian Press

Next Supreme Court chief justice should come from Quebec: Montreal bar

Jul 5, 2017 | 10:30 AM

MONTREAL — The Montreal bar is calling on tradition to be respected and for the next chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada to be a Quebecer.

Bar president Brian Mitchell says the law society sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late last month in which it outlined its position.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin announced last month she will step down in December.

McLachlin was the first woman appointed to the position and set a new longevity record by holding the job for nearly 18 years.

The letter from the bar states that according to tradition, the position of chief justice is assigned alternately between judges who come from a civil law background in Quebec and common law background elsewhere in the country.

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The bar wrote that it’s also important to alternate between French and English chief justices.

Mitchell says the bar, which represents some 15,500 lawyers in Montreal, wrote the letter as a reminder that traditions have existed and should be maintained.

“It’s not at all a demand, it’s rather an invitation for the prime minister to consider and also the justice minister to consider,” Mitchell said Wednesday.

“Ultimately, it’s the discretion of the prime minister to choose whomever he wishes.”

Three Quebec judges — all francophones — currently sit on the Supreme Court: Clement Gascon, Suzanne Cote and Richard Wagner.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

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Next Supreme Court chief justice should come from Quebec: Montreal bar

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