Supreme
Continued From Page 17
“Once burned, twice shy,”
retorted Comartin. “I heard the
same commitment from [Justice
Rothstein]…five-and-a-half
years ago, and Mr. Justice Roth-
stein is still not able to conduct
any hearings in French.”
That prompted a rare public
outburst two weeks later from
Justice Rothstein. Stung by what
he saw as an attack on his integ-
rity and an incorrect suggestion
by Comartin that he had pledged
to MPs to become bilingual, Jus-
tice Rothstein pointed to the
transcript of his session with
MPs where he said only: “I rec-
ognize that my not being bilin-
gual and my being educated in a
common-law jurisdiction will
require a greater effort on my
part to hear and decide cases
argued in French and involving
the civil law.”
The NDP’s insistence that
Supreme Court judges must be
bilingual took legislative form, as
well. Last June, the party reintro-
duced Bill C-232 (now C-208),
which would bar the appoint-
ment of future Supreme Court
judges who are unable to hear
appeals without simultaneous
interpretation. (It is unlikely to
become law because of Conserva-
tive opposition.)
I think the hearing went in a negative direction
from the Rothstein hearing, and that could
potentially cause some people in the future
to say…‘I really don’t want to go through that.’
“
Adam Dodek,
University of Ottawa law professor
in terms that would appeal to
Conservative politicians. Both
spoke of their reticence to step
on Parliament’s toes “Under the
rule of law, it is not our function
to create laws, nor do we have the
right to direct governments on
matters of policy,” Justice Moldaver asserted.
Both judges also tried to
defuse the criticism of their nom-
inations. In laborious French,
Justice Moldaver stressed his
“great respect for the French lan-
guage, French Canadian culture,
the civil law tradition, Quebecers,
and francophones elsewhere in
Canada” and said he was “sorry”
for his “limited ability in French.”
In an effort to heal an earlier
breach with the defence bar, he
also lauded criminal lawyers as
“vital to the maintenance and
preservation of a free and demo-
cratic society.”
NDP justice critic Jack Har-
ris asked Justice Karakatsanis
to address critics’ suggestion
that she had “jumped the
queue” over other “big brains”
at the Ontario Court of Appeal
“who are perhaps more quali-
fied by their experience.” She
pointed out that lawyers are
sometimes appointed to the top
court without any judicial
experience at all.
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