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Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada

Hon. Arif Virani

  • Member of Parliament
  • Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada
  • Liberal
  • Parkdale—High Park
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 64%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $120,537.19

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • May/23/24 8:12:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, let me be crystal clear to the parliamentary secretary, and I thank him for his work, that partisanship, donation history and political involvement have absolutely zero impact or role in the appointments process. When I am making a suggestion to pursue an appointment, there is no evidence that is put before me with respect to any donation history, political involvement or partisan activity. I am pleased that this is a laughing matter for some of the lawyers opposite, but what I can say to these individuals is that 80% of the individuals who have actually been appointed, out of the 730 that we have appointed since 2015, have zero donation history of any kind. That is really critical to enhancing Canadians' confidence in the administration of justice in this country. I would say that I share that opinion. I am actually delighted when I travel within this country, or even outside of this country, when people talk to me about the high quality of jurists that we have in Canada. We will continue to appoint jurists of the highest quality who have gone through that JAC process, who have come out as either recommended or highly recommended, because that preserves the integrity of the system and preserves Canadians' confidence in our judicial system. The fact that we are also, at the same time, reflecting the diversity of communities is an additional bonus. What I said earlier and will say again is that 50% of the appointments we have made are women. That is critical in terms of ensuring that all people see themselves reflected on the bench in Canada.
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Context: House Hansard - 247 - Nov/6/23
Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.)
  • Nov/6/23 3:14:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Justice Moreau is a proud Franco-Albertan and previous chief justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta. She has a wealth of experience as a trial lawyer as well as nearly 30 years of experience as a judge. She is a talented legal mind, an outstanding jurist and an expert in criminal law. Her appointment is a milestone for our country. With Justice Moreau, the judges on Canada's Supreme Court are now represented by a majority of women for the first time in Canadian history.
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