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Tories slip change to Supreme Court nominations into budget implementation bill

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Justice Marc Nadon delivers his opening remarks as he appears before a parliamentary committee following his nomination to the Supreme Court of Canada Wednesday October 2, 2013 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA – The Conservative government is using another massive budget implementation bill to make changes to the way judges of the Supreme Court of Canada are selected.

The unadvertised amendment comes as Marc Nadon, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s latest nominee to the highest court, is facing a constitutional challenge to his appointment.

An amendment “respecting the criteria for appointing judges to the Supreme Court of Canada” is buried among more than 350 pages of a budget implementation act tabled in Parliament today.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the bill’s sponsor, was unable to describe what the changes entail, instead referring questions during a news conference to the Justice Department.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay’s office did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

Nadon’s appointment is under scrutiny because it is claimed the judge does not meet the special requirements, guaranteed under the law, for Quebec’s three Supreme Court judges.

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The Canadian Press

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