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Take politics out of judicial appointments – NiagaraFallsReview.ca

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With everything else going on these days, few Canadians probably noticed when the country’s most prominent legal advocacy group condemned the Trudeau government for the way it appoints judges.

That’s a pity, because the problem identified in an open letter from the Canadian Bar Association earlier this month is a big one. It threatens to undermine not only the faith Canadians have in their country’s justice system but the integrity of the system itself.

The specific practice the bar association zeroed in on was the federal government’s “political vetting of candidates,” which at the very least raises fears that Liberal politicians are quietly rewarding Liberal friends — and in a way that could influence the justice system.

It works like this. As part of its extensive vetting process for would-be-judges, the federal government uses the Liberal Party of Canada’s private database, which is called the Liberalist.

This list tells the government how much, if anything, a judicial candidate has contributed to the Liberal party and also states whether and when someone was a Liberal party member. If they participated in electoral campaigns or leadership races, that information is conveyed to the government, too.

The bottom line is the Liberalist lets the government know exactly how Liberal-friendly a candidate is. And therein lies the failing the Canadian Bar Association is railing against. There’s nothing untoward, for instance, about a lawyer contributing financially to one or more political parties. But such generosity should never be a factor in deciding whether that lawyer becomes a judge.

Public trust in Canada’s justice system largely relies upon having judges who are informed, fair — and apolitical. But thanks to the use of the Liberalist, the federal government’s current process for appointing judges is “open to speculation about political interference,” the bar association said in its letter, adding: “It is time to make the system less open to manipulation.”

A lot of people agree. Last week, the citizen’s group Democracy Watch filed a challenge of the appointment process in the federal court, alleging it is undermining the independence of the judicial system. Before that, former Liberal justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould confirmed in a recent interview that there was political pressure in the selection of new judges. And last year, Francois Landry, a Liberal official in the office of Justice Minister David Lametti, claimed the prime minister’s office was playing an unreasonable role in judicial appointments.

It shouldn’t be too hard for Canadians to agree there’s a problem that needs fixing, one that could politicize judicial appointments for social engineering purposes. After all, many Canadians were as outraged as their American neighbours when U.S. President Donald Trump succeeded in having staunch social conservative Amy Coney Barrett appointed as the nation’s new Supreme Court justice. Trump’s actions were widely criticized, not only because they came just before the election he ended up losing but because he was consolidating a conservative majority on America’s highest court that will likely last and influence the country for a generation.

Of course, American judicial appointments have long been politicized in a way that remains foreign to Canada. Moreover, when it comes to political pressure in Canadian appointments, a remedy may be on the way.

In the next few weeks, the House of Commons justice committee is expected to launch a study of the judicial appointment process. We wish it success. There are many vital qualifications every aspiring Canadian judge should possess. Being an identifiably staunch supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada should not be on that list.

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N.S. government sets up code of conduct for province’s municipal politicians

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HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government has released a code of conduct for municipal politicians across the province.

The code includes 40 guidelines under 14 categories, covering topics from gifts and benefits, to how officials should handle confidential information.

Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr says a code ensuring elected municipal officials have clear guidance on conduct and behaviour is long overdue.

The code was originally requested by the provinces’ municipalities and villages, and it was developed based on recommendations of a working group established in January 2022.

The working group recommended a code that applied across the province, with processes for investigating complaints and imposing sanctions.

The provincial government says councils and village commissions must adopt the code of conduct by Dec. 19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Parliament returns amid partisan wrangling, rumblings about Trudeau’s leadership

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OTTAWA – The House of Commons returns today from a week-long break, but it’s unlikely to be business as usual.

Members of Parliament are slated to resume debating a Conservative demand for documents about federal spending on green technology projects.

The matter of privilege has all but paralyzed House business as the Liberals try to maintain a grip on an increasingly fractious minority Parliament.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to face the most serious challenge to his leadership to date.

Several media reports have detailed the plans of a group of Liberal MPs to confront Trudeau at the party’s Wednesday caucus meeting over sagging poll numbers and gloomy electoral prospects.

The precise strategy and breadth of the attempt to push Trudeau to resign remain unclear, though some MPs who spoke to The Canadian Press on background said the number of members involved is significant.

Trudeau could sidestep both problems by taking the controversial step of proroguing Parliament, which would end the session and set the stage for a fresh throne speech.

Some political watchers have mused the move would allow time for a Liberal leadership race if Trudeau were to step down.

The prime minister also plans to soon shuffle his cabinet to replace four ministers who don’t plan to run again in the next election.

A general election is scheduled to be held in October next year, but could come sooner if the Liberals lose the confidence of the House.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

— With files from Laura Osman

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Harris tells Black churchgoers that people must show compassion and respect in their lives

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STONECREST, Ga. (AP) — Kamala Harris told the congregation of a large Black church in suburban Atlanta on Sunday that people must show compassion and respect in their daily lives and do more than just “preach the values.”

The Democratic presidential nominee’s visit to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest on her 60th birthday, marked by a song by the congregation, was part of a broad, nationwide campaign, known as “Souls to the Polls,” that encourages Black churchgoers to vote.

Pastor Jamal Bryant said the vice president was “an American hero, the voice of the future” and “our fearless leader.” He also used his sermon to welcome the idea of America electing a woman for the first time as president. “It takes a real man to support a real woman,” Bryant said.

“When Black women roll up their sleeves, then society has got to change,” the pastor said.

Harris told the parable of the Good Samaritan from the Gospel of Luke, about a man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and was attacked by robbers. The traveler was beaten and left bloodied, but helped by a stranger.

All faiths promote the idea of loving thy neighbor, Harris said, but far harder to achieve is truly loving a stranger as if that person were a neighbor.

“In this moment, across our nation, what we do see are some who try to deepen division among us, spread hate, sow fear and cause chaos,” Harris told the congregation. “The true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”

She was more somber than during her political rallies, stressing that real faith means defending humanity. She said the Samaritan parable reminds people that “it is not enough to preach the values of compassion and respect. We must live them.”

Harris ended by saying, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” as attendees applauded her.

Many in attendance wore pink to promote breast cancer awareness. Also on hand was Opal Lee, an activist in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. Harris hugged her.

The vice president also has a midday stop at Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro with singer Stevie Wonder, before taping an interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton that will air later Sunday on MSNBC. The schedule reflects her campaign’s push to treat every voting group like a swing state voter, trying to appeal to them all in a tightly contested election with early voting in progress.

Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, headed to church in Saginaw, Michigan, and his wife, Gwen, was going to a service in Las Vegas.

The “Souls to the Polls” effort launched last week and is led by the National Advisory Board of Black Faith Leaders, which is sending representatives across battleground states as early voting begins in the Nov. 5 election.

“My father used to say, a ‘voteless people is a powerless people’ and one of the most important steps we can take is that short step to the ballot box,” Martin Luther King III said Friday. “When Black voters are organized and engaged, we have the power to shift the trajectory of this nation.”

On Saturday, the vice president rallied supporters in Detroit with singer Lizzo before traveling to Atlanta to focus on abortion rights, highlighting the death of a Georgia mother amid the state’s restrictive abortion laws that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court, with three justices nominated by Donald Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade.

And after her Sunday push, she will campaign with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

“Donald Trump still refuses to take accountability, to take any accountability, for the pain and the suffering he has caused,” Harris said.

Harris is a Baptist whose husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. She has said she’s inspired by the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and influenced by the religious traditions of her mother’s native India as well as the Black Church. Harris sang in the choir as a child at Twenty Third Avenue Church of God in Oakland.

“Souls to the Polls” as an idea traces back to the Civil Rights Movement. The Rev. George Lee, a Black entrepreneur from Mississippi, was killed by white supremacists in 1955 after he helped nearly 100 Black residents register to vote in the town of Belzoni. The cemetery where Lee is buried has served as a polling place.

Black church congregations across the country have undertaken get-out-the-vote campaigns for years. In part to counteract voter suppression tactics that date back to the Jim Crow era, early voting in the Black community is stressed from pulpits nearly as much as it is by candidates.

In Georgia, early voting began on Tuesday, and more than 310,000 people voted on that day, more than doubling the first-day total in 2020. A record 5 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that the mobilization effort launched last week, not Oct. 20.

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