Canadian Supreme Court
9 Justices sit on the
Supreme Court
Justices are appointed by the
Governor General after a
selection by the Prime Minister
The Provinces and Parliament are
not part of the process.
 This is a contentious issue.
Eligibility
Judges must be members of a
superior court or members of the
bar for ten years or more.
 3 Judges must be from Quebec
Superior Court.
 This is because Quebec
has a civil code instead
of Canadian common law.
 This was established in the
Constitution Act 1867
By convention, the remaining six
positions are divided in the
following manner:
Three from
Ontario
Two from the western provinces,
typically one from British
Columbia and one from the
prairie provinces, which rotate
amongst themselves
One from the Atlantic provinces,
almost always from Nova Scotia
or New Brunswick.
Retirement is mandatory at 75
Judge Nadon served on the
Quebec bar from 1974 to 1993
In 1993 he was appointed to the
Federal Court of Canada.
Nadon does not meet the specific
requirement of being a member
of the Quebec court system
The Federal government is
claiming his experience makes
him eligible.
Quebec Superior Court
1974
-
1993
The government used an
omnibus budget bill to redraft the
Supreme Court Act language to
“clarify” Nadon’s eligibility.
Redraft the
Supreme Court Act?
The “Constitutionality” of Nadon’s
selection and subsequent change
to the Supreme Court Act is now
being challenged.
Question
In a paragraph explain your
opinion of the Supreme Court
decision made at 3pm today.