The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, knew that the appointment of a personal friend to a post of judge of the Court of Quebec was going to make waves.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette began his day at the national convention of the Coalition avenir Québec by explaining, on Saturday, his decision to appoint Charles Olivier Gosselin to the criminal chamber of the Quebec court.
“I am fully aware that naming someone with whom I have ties would necessarily have resonance because I never hid from the ties I had with Judge Gosselin,” he said. told reporters.
The minister studied law with Mr. Gosselin. They see each other two or three times a year. In 2015, Mr. Jolin-Barrette celebrated his marriage.
On Friday, Prime Minister François Legault said he was unaware of their personal ties when Mr. Jolin-Barrette recommended that the Council of Ministers ratify his appointment on May 3. Mr. Legault discovered their friendship in an article in the Sun who reported, on Friday, the discomfort that this arouses in legal circles.
Amid a heated press scrum, Mr. Jolin-Barrette did not explain why he did not disclose his personal ties to Mr. Gosselin, even though he expected it to make waves.
“Appointments are not discussed in the Council of Ministers,” he contented himself with replying.
Appointment on merit
Mr. Jolin-Barrette defended his right to appoint friends to the bench to avoid being penalized because of their personal ties.
“I’ve been in the legal community for 15 years, so all the candidates who submit their application, it is possible that I know people,” he said.
However, the minister specified that Mr. Gosselin is the first personal friend he appoints in court.
“I know people who apply and have been recommended,” he said. The Minister of Justice finds himself in several events, hangs out with people from legal circles. »
Mr. Jolin-Barrette did not want to say how many names were on the short list given to him by an independent committee responsible for making between one and three recommendations at the end of the selection process. He did not further explain the reasons which would have led him to prefer his friend to one or two other candidates who would have ended up on the list of finalists.
“He is a quality candidate and the appointment was made on merit and the relationship between him and me was not taken into consideration in making the recommendation,” he said.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette insisted on the composition of the committee that makes recommendations to the Minister, made up of a judge from the Court of Québec, two lawyers appointed by the Barreau du Québec and two citizens.
“I followed the process to the letter,” he said.
Mr. Legault also continued to defend the integrity of the process on Saturday, after denying any appearance of a conflict of interest or partisan appointment.
“From the moment an independent committee gives one, two or three suggestions of competent people, the people, it says, are competent, so it can choose which one, among the three, it wants,” he said. he says in press briefing.