Lawyers critical of Toews appointments changes

The Canadian Bar Association is criticising federal justice minister Vic Toews planned changes to the panels that nominate federally-appointed judges in Canada.

The Justice Minister proposes to increase his at-large appointments from three to four and disallow the judge'’s vote -— potentially giving the at-large appointees the majority of votes on the committee. This perception would undermine the independence of the committee and the credibility of the appointment process.

"The CBA believes that the decisions of these committees should continue to be reached by consensus," said [CBA president J. Duncan] MacCarthy. "But if a vote is required, these changes would potentially 'stack the deck' in favour of the Minister's at-large appointees. These changes could give the at-large appointments virtual veto power."