Judicial appointments must be protected from political interference

November 18, 2019

Any reforms to judicial appointments must be consulted on with the Ontario Bar Association and all parties in the legislature so that we preserve judicial independence.

Judges should continue to be selected based on merit rather than political stripe. I will oppose any efforts to interfere or politicalize the appointment process.

After abusing the public appointments process to reward friends and allies, it is hard to trust the government’s motivations in making changes to the appointments for judges and justices of the peace.

I am worried the Attorney-General wants greater flexibility to hand-pick political allies and interfere in the work of non-partisan committees, which is fundamentally wrong.

The government should not use deficiencies in the current system as an excuse to overhaul it for partisan gain.

We can improve the process without compromising our democracy.

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