Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner had a seat next to the ring when the U.S. Supreme Court went into crisis last month.
Wagner was on an official visit to Washington, DC, when a draft majority decision leaked to the media that could overturn U.S. abortion laws, causing a political storm that is still raging in the south of the border.
“It was catastrophic,” he said in French during an interview with Radio-Canada.
“It makes you think that there is nothing sacred in some countries and that an institution can weaken very quickly.”
Wagner said that given the less polarized nature of the Canadian bank, he did not believe there would be a similar leak in his court, but argued that this event demonstrates the fragility of judicial independence.
“Like trust. It takes years and years for people to trust institutions, and it takes a single event to destroy that trust,” he said from his office in Ottawa.
The need to maintain and build that trust is one of the reasons why the Supreme Court is launching a campaign to explain its role in Canada’s democracy to Canadians.
Wagner, who has been a member of the Supreme Court since 2012 and has served as chief justice since 2017, said recent global political events, such as the January 6, 2021 insurgency attempt in Washington, DC, they should serve as a warning to Canadians.
“We can never say, ‘We have judicial independence, we are in Canada, everything is fine, we have respect for the institutions.'” No, we have to be careful, “he said.
“And as soon as there is an incident that could attack judicial independence, we must react, we must denounce.”
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump are trying to break down a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington, DC, Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner said recent world political events, such as the January 6 insurrection attempt should serve as a warning to Canadians to guard against political attacks on judicial independence and the nation’s institutions. (Julio Cortez / The Associated Press)
As part of its outreach campaign, the court now publishes plain language versions of its decisions and recently created an Instagram account.
The court has also begun holding hearings outside of Ottawa. Supreme Court judges heard a case in Winnipeg in 2019. In September, they will hear two cases in Quebec City. While in Quebec, the nine judges are expected to hold a free public event to answer questions about the role of the court.
Wagner said misinformation about Canada’s legal system was shown last winter when protesters gathered in Ottawa for nearly a month to fight COVID-19 restrictions.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. American. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
Some protesters cited the “First Amendment” – which protects freedom of expression in the United States – to claim rights in Canada, he said.
“I’ve always said that the reason for prejudice is ignorance. So the more information we give people, the better they can get an idea,” Wagner said.
“It’s not for judges, judicial independence. It’s for citizens. This is to ensure that citizens understand that when they get to court, they will have access to an impartial and independent judge whose decision will not depend on hidden influence.” .
Cortes under attack all over the world
Vanessa MacDonnell, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, said legal systems are under attack around the world.
He said the UK Conservatives had criticized the power of judges to interpret human rights law, adding that it was part of a pattern of “political attacks” on the country’s courts.
In 2020, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a widely criticized law that gives politicians the power to fine and fire judges whose actions and decisions they deem harmful. Human rights defenders have also expressed concern in recent years about the Hungarian government’s measures to limit judicial independence.
Vanessa MacDonnell, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, said Canadian institutions are not immune to attacks. (Submitted by Vanessa MacDonnell)
Canadian institutions are also not immune to attacks, MacDonnell said.
The controversy over Conservative Party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre’s vote to oust the governor of the Bank of Canada has dominated this leadership race.
“It only makes sense for the President of a Supreme Court, seeing what is happening in other parts of the world and how quickly the situation can get worse, to decide that this is an issue that needs to be addressed first. [rather] that later, proactively rather than reactively, “MacDonnell said.
Conservative Sen. Claude Carignan, a lawyer who closely monitors legal issues, said political events in the United States often have repercussions in Canada. He said he sometimes hears people confusing the role of the Canadian Senate with that of his American counterpart.
“We are overwhelmed by the discourse of what is happening in the United States in our various media,” he said.
“I think the Supreme Court [of Canada] He is right to want to establish, through a certain communication plan, that there are differences with the United States Supreme Court and that when he sits on the Supreme Court of Canada, we are not there to represent a right or left movement, or red or blue, but we are there to judge the merits of the sentence according to the laws in force ”.
Openness carries risks, the expert warns
Guillaume Rousseau, a law professor at the University of Sherbrooke, said he applauded the efforts of recent years to make the Supreme Court more accessible. He also warned that this approach carries risks.
Rousseau, who advised the Quebec government on its controversial secular law, said the judges’ visit to Quebec City will coincide with the provincial election.
While in Quebec, Supreme Court judges will hear a case involving a dispute between the federal government and Quebec over the legality of home-grown cannabis.
“It’s about sharing power, so Quebec’s autonomy, so it could be very delicate,” Rousseau told Radio-Canada in French.
However, “in a democracy, when you have political power, it is clear that it is very healthy to make political communication, to explain yourself, to have a concern for transparency, accessibility for the citizenry,” he added.
“It will be anarchy, eventually”
Wagner said he knows he is taking risks communicating more openly and frequently with the public and going to court outside of Ottawa. He said he still believes doing nothing would be riskier.
“I think the benefits are much greater than some criticism there could be,” he said.
“If they lose faith in justice, what will happen? People will solve their problems on the street and it will be anarchy, finally, and we will completely lose the calm, the serenity, the well-being of the citizens in these cases.”
Wagner spoke on Radio-Canada before the Supreme Court recently issued a controversial ruling that said Alexandre Bissonnette, the gunman who killed six people in a mosque in Quebec City, could not wait more than 25 years before be eligible for parole.
Three main candidates for the leadership of the Federal Conservative Party – Patrick Brown, Poilievre and Jean Charest – have issued statements condemning the decision and pledging to use the non-constitutional clause to overturn the ruling if they become prime minister.
The Liberal government said that while it supports a longer period of disqualification in cases such as the shooting of the mosque, it will respect the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada.