Quebec will not appeal the decision of the Superior Court, rendered last February, stipulating that Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette “has no say” about the bilingualism required by the Chief Justice of the Court of Quebec in the appointment of provincial judges.
Posted at 6:41 p.m.
The decision will not go to the Court of Appeal, since “it is not necessary”, affirmed Élisabeth Gosselin, press secretary for the Quebec Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette. “The government has all the latitude necessary to act in order to avoid the systematic requirement of bilingualism to access the office of judge,” she argued, in a statement sent to The Press.
Last February, the Superior Court decided in the showdown between the chief judge of the Court of Quebec, Lucie Rondeau, and Simon Jolin-Barrette, also minister responsible for the French language. Mr. Jolin-Barrette’s refusal to require bilingualism among provincial judges, despite Mr.me Rondeau in this sense, is an “illegal gesture”, had judged Christian Immer, in his decision.
The Minister of Justice “has no say in the inclusion of the needs expressed by the Chief Justice in the opinion [de concours des candidats à la fonction de juge] said Mr. Immer. The latter added that the only role of Mr. Jolin-Barrette is to ask the secretary [du comité de sélection des juges] to launch the competition.
When the decision was rendered by the Superior Court, Simon Jolin-Barrette responded through his press secretary, Élisabeth Gosselin. “We will spare no effort to defend, promote and enhance the French language and [nous] ensure that all Quebecers can access all positions, regardless of which ones,” she said.
With Philippe Teisceira-LessardThe Press