Canadians should have full confidence in their judicial system. Maintaining this confidence requires that there be an accountable, transparent and cost-effective process for the handling of complaints against federally appointed judges.
Today, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announced that legislative amendments to the Judges Act, to strengthen the judicial complaints process, received Royal Assent and these changes are now law. The amendments reform the process for handling complaints against judges, which had been established 50 years ago.
The new system will improve the process by imposing mandatory sanctions on a judge when a complaint of misconduct is found to be justified, but not serious enough to warrant removal from office. Such sanctions now include counselling, continuing education, and reprimands.
Additionally, streamlining the process for more serious judicial complaints, where removal from the bench could be an outcome, will also enable resolutions that are more timely and cost effective, in comparison to a system that had previously been cumbersome and expensive.
The Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) is responsible for administering the judicial complaints process. The CJC will be required to include in its public annual report the number of complaints received and how they were resolved.
Previous public consultations informed these amendments, with the goal of making important changes while respecting the constitutional principle of judicial independence.
