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Boost vetting process for judges: NDP critic

Says scandal, hush deal should have come to light

By: Mia Rabson

Posted: 09/2/2010 1:00 AM

OTTAWA -- The review process for appointing judges must be improved, NDP justice critic Joe Comartin said Wednesday.

Comartin was commenting in the wake of allegations an associate chief justice of Manitoba was appointed to the bench in 2005 despite a sex scandal involving herself and her husband that resulted in a $25,000 hush payment nearly two years before her appointment.

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"There is no question it brings into question the screening process," said Comartin.

Justice Lori Douglas was appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench, family division, on May 19, 2005 by then-Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler. In June 2009, she was promoted to the position of associate chief judge, Court of Queen's Bench, family division, by current Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.

Neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals would comment on the story Wednesday.

But Comartin said regardless of the outcome of this case, clearly the fact the judge had been involved in a sex scandal that resulted in an out-of-court settlement should have come up when she was being vetted for the bench.

"I don't understand how the screening process judges are put through failed in that regard," said Comartin.

Comartin said the judge herself had "an obligation" to disclose the complaints and settlement made by a former client of her husband's who alleged he was pressured by the husband to have sex with Douglas. The sex never happened although Douglas met with the complainant, Alex Chapman, at least once.

Comartin also said the law firm at which both Douglas and her husband worked and to whom Chapman complained about the harassment, should have disclosed the saga.

However, Comartin said the federal review process for judges isn't nearly as intensive as the review process at several provincial levels, especially Ontario's, which Comartin said has the most strident judicial appointments review process in the country.

He said, for example, the federal process does not require the review committee vetting a potential judge to ever interview the applicant himself or herself before making a recommendation on their appointment.

He also said the questionnaires the applicant and those who know them are asked to fill out should be much more detailed in the questions they ask.

Federal appointments to the bench are made by the minister of justice. Potential applicants are screened by eight-member judicial advisory committees in each province made up of representatives across the legal spectrum including the bench, bar and law enforcement, as well as the general public.

The committees conduct extensive consultations with legal and non-legal communities connected to each judicial applicant. Applicants also must fill out a personal-history questionnaire and consent to a review of their law society records and background checks by the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

The committees make recommendations to the justice minister on applicants deemed appropriate for judicial appointments and the justice minister makes a recommendation to cabinet from that list of approved nominees any time a vacancy arises on a particular court.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 2, 2010 A5

The Winnipeg Free Press is not accepting comments on this story for legal reasons.

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