RECOMMENDATION 1

The Committee recommends that the creation of an independent advisory board be made a permanent element of the process for all future appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada. It supports the manner in which the independent advisory board was composed with the majority of its members being appointed by non-governmental legal organizations and including non-lawyer members.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Committee recommends that the government and the organizations that will be choosing members for future advisory boards take into account the diversity of Canada in making their selections.

RECOMMENDATION 3

The Committee recommends that all members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, who agree to sign a non-disclosure agreement, be consulted by the Minister of Justice on the shortlist of candidates for appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada. This will allow members of Parliament to fulfil their roles as democratic representatives and law-makers. The Committee also recommends that all the material in the possession of the Advisory Board concerning the candidates be shared with members after signing the non-disclosure agreement and that sufficient time be allocated for members to do their research on the candidates once they are in receipt of such materials (at least two working days), so that they will be in a position to offer meaningful feedback to the Minister of Justice before he or she forwards the shortlist to the Prime Minister.

RECOMMENDATION 4

The Committee recommends that all future nominees to the Supreme Court of Canada appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights at a televised meeting to answer the questions of its members. The Committee has no difficulty inviting additional parliamentarians such as one representative of each non-recognized political party or members of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to question the nominee at a committee meeting, provided that sufficient time is then allocated to the nominee’s appearance before the Committee to allow for meaningful exchanges between the nominee and all concerned. This committee hearing should be one in which parliamentary privilege applies. The Committee further recommends that parliamentarians be given at least seven days’ notice to prepare questions for all future nominees. For greater certainty, the Committee wishes to confirm that its meeting would be for the purpose of allowing parliamentarians and Canadians at large to become better acquainted with the nominee and that the Committee members would not vote on the nomination.

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Committee recommends that the qualifications and assessment criteria for appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada be amended to include a statement regarding the importance of maintaining representation from each region of Canada in historically proportionate numbers.

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Committee recommends that a period of at least 90 days be allocated to potential nominees to submit an application for a position on the Supreme Court of Canada and for the Advisory Board to seek out qualified candidates, unless exceptional circumstances mandate faster action.

RECOMMENDATION 7

The Committee recommends that for all future nominations the Chair of the Advisory Board and the Minister of Justice appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights to provide details about how the appointments process unfolded and why the particular nominee was selected.