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Email: "Retirement of justices a chance for Harper to reshape Supreme Court"

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Supreme Court Justices Ian Binnie, 72, and Louis Charron, 60, announced their retirement last Friday. BY Rebecca Millette OTTAWA, Ontario, May 17, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be in a position to reshape the Canadian Supreme Court with the appointment of two new judges this summer. Supreme Court Justices Ian Binnie, 72, and Louis Charron, 60, announced their retirement last Friday.  Both will step down at the end of August.  Binnie was scheduled for retirement within the next three years, but Charron’s announcement came as a surprise, as the judge is well below the mandatory retirement age. Binnie, known to have at times inserted coarse language into written rulings, has been quoted putting down religion as “an engine of intolerance”, while Louise Charron has been noted for a history of judicial activism and strong support of expanded homosexual rights.  Both Binnie and Charron also agreed with Justice Beverly McLachlin’s decision to approve legal “Sex Clubs” in Quebec in 2005. With their upcoming retirement, debate has swirled about whether Harper will move the court in a more conservative direction.  According to an Ottawa Citizen report in 2010, “Harper has repeatedly made clear that he considers the Supreme Court too activist and liberal, and prefers judges with a restrained approach to enforcing the Constitution.” Harper has already appointed two judges to the Supreme Court, Marshall Rothstein and Thomas Cromwell, both of whom are reportedly moderately conservative.  At least three other Supreme Court judges will reach mandatory retirement age by the end of 2015, by which time Harper will have appointed over half of the nine Supreme Court Judges.  Currently, all but one of the expected retirees, including Binnie and Charron, are Liberal-appointed judges.  Rod Snow, president of the Canadian Bar Association, the group which is traditionally consulted prior to an appointment, said he hoped Harper would choose replacements “based solely on merit.”  He added that the Association looked for a transparent process in the appointments. “We do some analysis of decisions, but overall, what you’re looking for is record, experience, judgment, judicial temperament,” Harper said last month. “These people sit on the bench a long time. We will choose very carefully.” Meanwhile, the prime minister’s office announced the intended process Friday.  A panel of five MPs will review the candidates and submit a list of six to Harper and the minister of justice.  The Justice Minister will additionally confer with the Ontario Attorney General and the legal community of Ontario, where the two justices will be chosen.  All Canadians are also invited to submit comment via the federal justice department website. Following their nominations, the two candidates will go before a parliamentary committee to be questioned. http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/retirement-of-justices-a-chance-for-harper-to-reshape-supreme-court/

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