Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette was “very reckless” in appointing a friend as judge, according to opposition parties, but François Legault assures that there was no conflict of interest.
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“It creates serious discomfort. When we proceed to the appointment of a judge, it must give the image that it is above all suspicion, that is exactly what the minister missed here, ”said Liberal MP André Albert Morin.
Friday morning, The sun revealed that Simon Jolin-Barrette recommended the appointment of Charles-Olivier Gosselin, 36, a longtime friend whose marriage he celebrated, as a judge in the criminal division of the Court of Quebec.
Mr. Gosselin is the lawyer who brought the case of Alexandre Bissonnette, the Quebec City Mosque killer, to the Supreme Court, arguing that the consecutive sentences for the multiple murders were unconstitutional. At the end of the process, the highest court in the land invalidated the provision of the Criminal Code which allowed for the imposition of sentences of more than 25 years of incarceration.
Late Friday afternoon, the Liberals sent a letter to Ethics Commissioner Ariane Mignolet asking her to investigate the matter to determine if there was a conflict of interest in this case.
Process
In Sherbrooke, François Legault defended Mr. Jolin-Barrette’s decision, recalling the process after which a judge is appointed.
“Before, there was a post-it and then we said: “this person is a supporter of such a party so we should name him”. It no longer works the same way, there is an independent committee that does the analysis. And there, there is a maximum of three names which are submitted, ”said the Prime Minister in a press scrum on Friday.
After receiving the recommendations of the independent committee, the Minister of Justice must make a choice and submit it to the Council of Ministers.
For PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, this is the crux of the matter. “Was he transparent? Did he disclose to his colleagues his apparent conflict of interest when he recommended this candidacy? he wondered in an interview with the QMI Agency.
When journalists asked him this question, François Legault affirmed that he had learned that Judge Gosselin was the friend of Simon Jolin-Barrette in The newspaper.
“Every week there are a lot of appointments that are adopted by the cabinet, and the only question I ask is, ‘Were the rules followed?'” he added, specifying that he does not think it is necessary to modify the process in place.
A small world
According to law professor Patrick Taillon, Simon Jolin-Barrette found himself in the “weird situation” where ministers of justice often find themselves, simply because the legal community is “a small world”.
“The system is not well done, so that someone can say: I don’t want to deprive someone who deserves it, just because I know them. But at the same time, if I name him, I’m going to be in hot water,” he said.
what they said
“The problem is not the person who was appointed, nor the impartiality of the Court of Quebec. It’s the minister. For such important decisions, he has a moral responsibility, he must ensure that he maintains the credibility of the system. – André Albert Morin, Liberal MP for Acadie
“It is very reckless on the part of Simon Jolin-Barrette. He puts himself in a situation where even though he says that is not the case, there is an appearance of favouritism. I think we have to find ways to prevent that from happening.” – Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for Québec solidaire
“There are serious questions that arise, insofar as it is still not known whether the Minister formally disclosed his conflict of interest when he made his recommendation to the Council of Ministers. We are asking him to quickly reveal this information, with supporting evidence” – Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois
“The minister has been working in the justice sector for 15 years now. During his career, he has developed links and friendships with many people gravitating in this environment and these should not be automatically disqualified from accessing the function of judge. – Statement from the office of the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette
Another controversial appointment
Another appointment that occurred at the same time created controversy on the North Shore. A lawyer from Montérégie, Alexandre Germain, was appointed judge by Simon Jolin-Barrette, in the youth division and the criminal and penal division of the Court of Quebec, in Sept-Îles.
If this appointment has created a stir, it is primarily because it is unusual for a lawyer who does not practice law in the region to become a magistrate on the North Shore.
What’s more, the appointment process was done in a special way. Alexandre Germain was appointed after a second call for nominations. A first call was launched last year, and the selection committee submitted its recommendations to the minister last December, according to a document that the QMI Agency was able to consult.
Rather than appoint a judge following this report, Simon Jolin-Barrette launched a second call for applications for the same post, but lawyers who applied the first time would not have been allowed to do so again. .
Thus, after a second report sent to the Minister at the beginning of April, Mr. Jolin-Barrette made the decision to appoint Alexandre Germain.