Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Thank you for being here today, minister.

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I spoke to you privately about something, and I mentioned it at the Legal Committee. I want to mention it again: Thank you for trying to make the Supreme Court of Canada more bilingual. I want to recognize the work of my former Senate colleagues Tardif and Chaput, who tried to achieve this goal.

Minister, ever since your government came into power, you have tried very hard to get diverse nominations from the judicial advisory committees in different provinces. For example, in my own province, there are 11 vacancies for the Supreme Court. What is the delay? Why are there delays? Is it because the advisory committees are not providing diverse names? What is the reason for the delays?

Hon. David Lametti, P.C., M.P., Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada: Thank you, senator. As you will recall from my previous exchange, one of the main reasons is because we have more places to fill. We have created 116 new judicial positions since 2017. We created 27 in the last budget, plus 2 prothonotary positions.

We are working hard, and the JACs are working hard. We replace and replenish the JACs every couple of years, as is provided for in the system. We do that diligently. I appoint judges at a pretty rigorous and even pace, and we do that after a consultation process. I think you will hear positive feedback from across Canada with respect to the judges we’ve appointed.

I work hard with the bar associations across Canada and with other legal groups to encourage people to apply and to encourage people to apply to the JACs when those positions become open. The results speak for themselves: Since 2016, 55% of our appointments have been women, 12% have been visible minorities, 6% identify as LGBTQ2+ and 4% are Indigenous. Of them, 32% are functionally bilingual and another 13% can read in both languages. That’s more than some in our house.

The system is working well. We’ve built trust in the system, not only with judges but also with members of the communities that we’re targeting.

Hon. Rosa Galvez: Welcome, Minister Lametti. I’m sure you are aware of increasingly diversified litigation on intrinsically related environmental matters that impact our already overloaded judicial system. To name a few, environmental activists, Indigenous leaders and Black communities are being arrested for defending their land, water and air from pollution. There have been lawsuits from provinces for too much action against climate change, lawsuits from citizens for not enough action on climate change, rural communities potentially suing oil and gas companies for unpaid taxes and lawsuits against corporations for misleading and greenwashing.

My question is: How is your government comfortable with the clarity of present environmental laws, its ability to meet its climate commitments and implementing the “polluter pays” principle?

Hon. Denise Batters: Minister Lametti, recently, federal judicial vacancies have ballooned to an all-time high on your watch. On September 1, there were a record 91 judicial vacancies. As of October 1, there are still 89.

The Supreme Court of Canada’s R. v. Jordan decision means that people charged with serious crimes can go free because of excessive court delays. As the Minister of Justice, you have the sole and complete control over one simple solution to that problem: Appoint more judges and appoint them now.

When I asked you about this in 2021, you blamed the election. Well, we didn’t have one of those last summer. Before that, you blamed empty judicial advisory committees, but guess what? You’re responsible for appointing those too. Victims wait months and years for justice while courtrooms sit empty.

Your government has been in power for seven years, and your excuses have worn thin. After almost four years as Minister of Justice, why are you still failing to fulfill the most basic mandate of your job?

Hon. David Lametti, P.C., M.P., Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada: Thank you for the question, senator. It is true — and frankly, it’s the only thing that is true in your question — that there are 89 judicial vacancies.

What’s important to note is that since 2017, we have created, as a government, 116 new judicial positions across Canada, including — and this is included in this number — 27 in the last budget. In fact, we’re appointing judges at a faster pace, and there will be more appointments forthcoming soon.

I can say that with the additional positions that we have created, the provinces and provincial courts are happy that we have done this. They are extremely pleased with both the quality and the diversity of the appointments that we have made, and we will continue to do so. We have appointed, as a government, over 550 judges since we took office, and I proceed at a pace of over 100 a year. That pace will continue, and with the new positions we have created, we will continue to meet the needs of the Canadian judiciary.

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