Around ten investigations into judges dragged on for several years, reveals a compilation from our Investigation Office.
Since 2014, the investigation procedures concerning 13 magistrates, appointed by both the federal and provincial governments, have taken place over periods ranging from two to eight years, as in the exceptional case of retired judge Michel Girouard (see below).
In January, we also reported in our pages the case of the judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, Gérard Dugré, who is contesting a dismissal procedure brought against him in 2022. Although he has not been sitting since 2019, he has since , $1.3M in salary and has been eligible for full retirement for a few weeks.
In Quebec, a dispute file is also underway. Judge Denise Descôteaux will return to court next year. Already blamed twice by the Judicial Council, she is currently contesting a 2022 decision accusing her of potentially endangering the life of a police informant (see down there).
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Too long delays
These interminable delays undermine the population’s confidence in its justice system, deplore the law professors we consulted.
“Judges are lawyers. They know the law. […] We can think that in certain cases, we are stretching the sauce a little. We try everything within our reach. […] The judges have a lawyer paid by taxpayers. Maybe if they were the ones [assumaient] All these lawyer fees, they would think twice. This creates an ease in trying all possible remedies to delay investigations,” explains Emmanuelle Bernheim, professor in the civil law section of the University of Ottawa.
Nevertheless, it is normal for investigations into the judiciary to take a certain amount of time, since judges benefit from the principle of judicial independence, recalls the assistant dean of the civil law section of the University of Ottawa, Pierre Thibault.
“It’s actually too long in some cases. But judges enjoy a special status. We cannot dismiss a judge because he made a bad decision or because we disagree with him. »
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Photo PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA
End of long delays at the federal level?
According to Mr. Thibault, no federally appointed judge has been removed to date, because the judges concerned all resigned before being officially dismissed.
Some, like judges Gérard Dugré and Michel Girouard, continued to accumulate seniority during the procedures to contest their dismissal and were thus able to receive their full pension before resigning.
However, this will no longer happen again following the changes made Judges Act last spring: once the dismissal of a judge has been pronounced by the Judicial Council, he or she will no longer be able to accumulate seniority.
Endless protest delays should also be a thing of the past at the federal level.
Judges who challenge decisions affecting them can now go directly to the Supreme Court, without first going through other federal courts.
“So, delays of two or three years (before a decision) will not happen again,” believes Professor Thibault.
In Quebec, on the other hand, the situation remains the same. Judges’ salaries are maintained and they can continue to accumulate seniority, even during dismissal proceedings.
Here are some recorded cases of disciplinary cases which have dragged on before the courts
ARCHIVE PHOTO, DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE
The Canadian Judicial Council recommended in 2018 the dismissal of Judge Michel Girouard, of the Superior Court of Quebec in Abitibi, because he was suspected of having purchased and consumed cocaine from a client when he was a lawyer . Judge Girouard, however, challenged his dismissal all the way to the Supreme Court and retired in 2021, before the Canadian Parliament confirmed his dismissal. He continued to accumulate years of seniority during his challenge, which allowed him to become eligible for his full pension as a judge in 2020, even though it had been eight years since he had last served.
The Superior Court is currently seized of an appeal for judicial review in the case of Judge Denise Descôteaux, who is contesting a 2022 decision of the Conseil de la magistrature. The Council’s Investigative Committee criticized him for his outburst against a witness. The latter felt obliged to reveal his status as a police informant, which potentially put his life in danger. The hearing in this case, for which the complaint dates back to 2020, was set for March 2025. Judge Descôteaux had already been reprimanded by the Council following a complaint from the DPJ of Abitibi-Témiscamingue for having failed to of “reserve, courtesy and serenity” in various matters. She was also blamed for the same reasons after losing her calm during discussions with a Crown prosecutor in 2019.
ARCHIVE PHOTO, PIERRE-PAUL POULIN
In December 2022, the disciplinary committee of the Judicial Council issued a harsh decision against former judge Jean Herbert, affirming that if he had not already retired, his dismissal would have been requested . In 2019, the Minister of Justice at the time, Sonia LeBel, filed a complaint against this judge of the Longueuil Municipal Court, following a report by our Bureau of Investigation. We reported that Judge Herbert had exonerated a friend on the bench in 42 seconds, in addition to overbilling the City of Longueuil for sessions. The judge has since been sued by Longueuil, which wishes to recover the amounts allegedly overcharged.
COURTESY PHOTO, CITY OF LAVAL
On January 9, the Superior Court rejected an appeal for judicial review in the case of Laval Municipal Court judge Chantal Paré. The latter contested the conclusions of a 2022 investigation concerning her. The Council’s Inquiry Committee had recommended blaming the judge who had lacked “reserve and serenity” in ordering the unjustified detention of the complainant, whom she found rude towards her. According to the Council, she had thus rendered “an excessive and disproportionate decision in relation to the lack of courtesy on the part of the latter towards her”.
COURTESY PHOTO
Last April, the Quebec Judicial Council reprimanded Judge Denis Mondor because he took too long to render judgments in certain criminal cases. This reprimand came four years after the initial complaint. Judge Mondor retired in November, after several years of absence due to illness.