We all breathed a sigh of relief at the announcement of an agreement between the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, and the Chief Justice of the Court of Quebec, Lucie Rondeau, on April 21. Indeed, the last few years have been tense and difficult on several fronts in the area of justice. Several disputes between the ministry and the judiciary have taken up too many resources and attention, and this has unfortunately generated very bad press for the judicial system.
In this context, the tabling of Bill 26, which aims to subject the Conseil de la magistrature to the budgetary appropriations of the Ministère de la Justice, and therefore to control its budget, and of course the outcry that ensued, both from the Council itself and from several journalists, as well as from the Barreau du Québec, is not likely to reassure us. In fact, it looks like this announced new clash should be able to be avoided.
It should be noted that many have raised concerns about the Council’s ability to maintain the means to preserve its independence, and in particular to contest reforms that it deems problematic. It should also be noted that a large part of these disputes ended in favor of the arguments presented by the Council, thus demonstrating the full relevance and fairness of such interventions. All of this certainly warrants concern about legislative reform that would thwart these means in the future.
The argument that accountability is useful and necessary for all government agencies is not without merit. It is for this reason that new powers were granted to the Auditor General of Quebec last March, in order to carry out an annual control of the budgets of the Conseil de la magistrature. It seems to us that it would be wiser to allow such a mechanism to prove its worth before going any further, particularly in the face of the questions of judicial independence raised by Bill 26.
The justice system is currently going through difficult times, no one can deny that. Delays are getting longer, cases are becoming more complex, the labor shortage is hitting hard, access to justice and public confidence are being eroded. Let’s put all our energy into fixing the system, work together and avoid reigniting a new conflict that would drag on for years. We have so much to do, let’s get to it now.
* Co-signed this letter:
Martine Valois, Professor (Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal)
Pierre Trudel, Professor (Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal)
Jean-Frédéric Ménard, Professor (Faculty of Law of the University of Sherbrooke)
Rachel Chagnon, Professor (Faculty of Political Science and Law of the University of Quebec in Montreal)
Lucie Lamarche, Professor (Faculty of Political Science and Law of the University of Quebec in Montreal)
Rémi Bachand, Professor (Faculty of Political Science and Law of the University of Quebec in Montreal)
Robert Leckey, Professor (McGill University Faculty of Law)
François Crépeau, Professor (McGill University Faculty of Law)
Fabien Gélinas, Professor (McGill University Faculty of Law)
Hélène Mayrand, professor (Faculty of Law of the University of Sherbrooke)
Elizabeth Ménard, President of the Association of Defense Lawyers of Montreal-Laval-Longueuil
Frédéric Bérard, Doctor of Laws
Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, justice spokesperson for Québec solidaire