Law Times

PAGE 4 NEWS December 6, 2010 • Law Times Will bilingual judges bill 'be brought down in the Senate?' BY TOM KORSKI For Law Times OTTAWA — A bill to dis- qualify unilingual judges from appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada appears likely to die in the Senate, the MP who authored it fears. Yvon Godin, the NDP MP who introduced it, says a Con- servative cabinet minister told him his bill "will be brought down in the Senate." "I don't want to be a pes- simist, but when the govern- ment is not pleased with a bill, they just defeat it," Godin tells Law Times. Bill C-232 would amend the Supreme Court Act to require that all justices understand both French and English with- out the aid of an interpreter. Opposition MPs passed the bill 140-137 over Conserva- tive objections in the House of Commons on March 31. In the Senate, where the Conservatives hold a working majority, hear- ings have yet to be scheduled on the measure and are "undeter- mined," an offi cial said. But Godin says Heritage Minister James Moore told him privately that his bill would lan- guish in the upper house. "It was right after the Commons vote. I was happy; I won my vote. I was passing James Moore's desk and I said, 'Pretty good, eh?' And he said, 'It won't go far when it goes to the Senate.'" "To me, this is totally un- democratic," Godin says. Moore's offi ce refused to comment on the issue. "We do not comment on private conversations," a spokesper- son for the minister says. Sen. Marjory LeBreton, Conservative leader in the up- per house, also declined com- ment on whether the bill had been stalled. Since its arrival in the Senate eight months ago, the chamber has met 56 days and passed 12 bills into law, in- cluding three budget measures. "Th e agenda has been pretty light," says Liberal Senate oppos- ition leader James Cowan. "Th e government doesn't seem to want to move that bill forward." According to Cowan, Liberal senators were anxious to consult the legal community on the bill's impact. "We're trying to get that to committee," he says. "We want to hear from the Canadian Bar Association, from advocates, and the general public." Suspicions the bill will lapse followed Conservative senators' rejection last month of the cli- mate change accountability act, another NDP bill that cleared the Commons with opposition support. Th e Senate vetoed the climate bill without hearings or lengthy debate. "Th e Senate has a responsi- bility to give these bills proper consideration," says Cowan. But Conservative senators have questioned bill C-232 as an unreasonable measure that would disqualify unilingual nominees to the court regardless of judicial competence. "Bilin- gualism is not part of the study of law," B.C. Tory Sen. Nancy Greene Raine tells Law Times. "What we're looking for at the Supreme Court is the best legal minds in the country." Greene Raine earlier told Meehan & Sharpe on Appellate Advocacy DVD Eugene Meehan, Q.C. and The Honourable Robert J. Sharpe How to develop an 'appealing' case Winning on appeal requires a different set of skills than winning at trial. With this video you'll get tips on written and oral advocacy and expert advice on how to triumph on appeal. Features winning techniques and strategies and identifies common pitfalls, you'll learn how to: • • • • Canada Law BookNew! write an effective appellate factum construct a compelling argument improve your oral advocacy skills marshal the facts and law for a successful case This 'how-to-win-an-appeal' video is an excellent guide to the essentials before an appellate court. Also includes tips on appealing board decisions useful in: Order your copy today DVD • $195 • May 2010 P/C 0765150001 ISBN 978-0-88804-496-9 • Labour Law • Human Rights • Provincial, Federal and Territorial Tribunals the Senate that "to make bi- lingualism compulsory would change something that is use- ful into something that would diminish the court over time by depriving it of far too many worthy candidates." Elaine McCoy, a Progressive Conservative senator and former senior counsel for the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, says that "as someone who has been to the Supreme Court," she con- siders the bilingualism require- ment unnecessary. "Trial courts are a whole Marketplace LAW PRACTICE FOR SALE GENERAL Law Practice for sale in cottage country. Very lucrative. Turnkey. Call 613-332-0016. bancroftlawpracticeforsale.ca SHARED OFFICE SPACE canadalawbook.ca For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.565.6967 Canada Law Book, a Thomson Reuters business. 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"Th e number of times that a legal argument is studied, hashed over, reviewed, revisited, and dis- cussed among the justices, their researchers, and law clerks does not allow for very many, if any — I would argue if any — miss- ing of subtleties or arguments or jurisprudence," McCoy previ- ously told the Senate. She added: "It seems to me the bill negates the very fl aw that it allegedly corrects: that there is an opportunity and a necessity for a judge not to miss a nuance in argument. I do not think that happens or is based on linguistic ability." Th e Supreme Court Act cur- rently requires at least three of nine judges to be from Quebec. Under other provisions, ap- pointees must be under age 75, have at least 10 years' standing at the bar, and reside within 40 kilometres of Ottawa. 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