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PROCEDURES FOR SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENTS SETTLED

Prime Minister Martin has spoken frequently about a democratic deficit in our political system and of his determination to remedy it.

Mr. Martin apparently speaks from both sides of his mouth.

With the retirement of two judges from the Supreme Court of Canada, Mr. Martin has hummed and hawed over the process by which he will choose their replacements. He has suggested that there should be some Parliamentary input. The House of Commons Justice Committee was requested to provide recommendations to the Prime Minister about possible appointment procedures. The committee duly beavered away, studying the options, interviewing witnesses, etc. In early May, the committee submitted its recommendations to the government.

It needn't have bothered. The decision on the appointment procedure had already been made.

Bill Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs, let the proverbial cat out of the bag at the briefing of Canadian NGOs, which REAL Women attended on February 2-4, 2004. (See article, "Canada's Nasty Behaviour at UN Meetings", page 3.)

At that briefing, Mr. Graham stated that an independent, non-political committee was going to provide a list of candidates for the Prime Minister's selection. Mr. Graham said, "Judges define important social values, such as marriage, and … "the government had no plan to have [a] US system." Under the U.S. system, the Senate, by way of its Judicial Committee, holds public confirmation hearings and makes the final decision on appointments to the senior courts.

As usual in Canada, the public is left out of any major decisions. Mr. Martin apparently does not plan to change a thing, while making a pretense that we live in a democracy. Not so: like his predecessor, Jean Chrétien, Mr. Martin manipulates all the strings.

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