SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Rhéal Éloi Fortin

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Bloc Québécois
  • Rivière-du-Nord
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 68%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $105,330.31

  • Government Page
  • Mar/21/24 2:58:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, doing nothing twice as fast still amounts to doing nothing. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Federal Court are telling the government that the number of vacancies is preventing our justice system from working properly. The Chief Justice of Canada wrote, and I quote, “Access to justice and the health of our democratic institutions are at risk”. It is not just anyone who is saying that. It is the Chief Justice of Canada. Rather than speeding up the appointment process, the Minister of Justice is challenging the Federal Court's decision and looking for excuses for his inaction. Clogging up the courts with political partisanship is not going to solve the problem. Judges must be appointed. What is the minister waiting for? Liberal applicants, perhaps?
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  • Mar/21/24 2:57:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a year ago, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court criticized the government on its judicial appointment process. He said, and I quote, “The government's inertia regarding vacancies and the absence of satisfactory explanations for these delays are disconcerting.” Since then, the Liberals have been dragging their feet. There were 85 vacancies; now there are 68. In February, the Federal Court ordered the government to take action. We learned on Monday that, instead of taking action, the Minister of Justice is fighting that ruling in court. When will the minister take the justice system seriously and appoint the judges we need?
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  • Sep/20/23 5:32:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and I congratulate her on her cabinet appointment. I simply do not understand why my colleague is telling us that this is so important and urgent when her government let it slide for six months. Now, at the eleventh hour, a month before the expiry of the one-year period granted by the Supreme Court, the government is telling us to get a move on. I do not know what to tell her. Yes, it is important to us, and I am certain that the same holds true for my NDP colleagues and even my Conservative colleagues. While we may have differing views, we all want Bill S-12 to pass. At least, I believe that is the case. I do not want to put words in their mouth, but I think we all agree that the national sex offender registry is important and that it is important to allow victims to weigh in on publication bans. Why am I being told to get a move on? The Supreme Court decision was handed down 11 months ago. Now is an odd time to ask.
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  • Jun/16/22 11:51:44 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-9 
Madam Speaker, I too will ask my colleague a question in French. I understand that my colleague agrees with me about reviewing the appointment process. We have said it before: The “Liberalist” is appalling. I am not the one who came up with the name, by the way—it was the government. When even the government refers to this list of conditions by that name, we can imagine what impact this can have on the public. This really needs to be addressed quickly. I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the example from Quebec, the Bastarache commission, during which former justice Bastarache reviewed the appointment process and proposed conditions that are better than those in place at the federal level.
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  • Jun/16/22 11:37:59 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-9 
Madam Speaker, thanks to my colleague, I remember the previous question now. I would say that the biggest challenge is non-partisanship. Anyway, to answer the question from my colleague from Kelowna—Lake Country, I would say that we do need to appoint an ombudsman. An ombudsman is the guardian and representative of the people. He or she monitors the work of various organizations. It is therefore important. The position is vacant and should be filled. I hope it will be filled soon. Once again, I must say that, fortunately or unfortunately, I am an eternal optimist, and I always tend to trust people. Sometimes I am disappointed, but until then, I will place my trust in the current government. I will, however, say that it needs to hurry up, because this is urgent. We need to appoint an ombudsman, review the appointment process and respond to what the public is asking for so that we can finally say “mission accomplished”.
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  • Jun/16/22 11:36:30 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-9 
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question. Before answering, I would like to congratulate her for making the effort to ask the question in French. I know that it was not easy, and I want her to know that I am very thankful for the effort. It is a mark of respect, and I sincerely thank her. I was so focused on her language efforts that I forgot her question. Ha, ha! I do agree that we need to vote in favour of Bill C-9. The appointment process must also be impartial, and it needs a review. That is our job, and we owe it to voters and the entire population to make sure our justice system is non-partisan, effective, professional and reliable.
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