Silence In The Court

Harper says Marshall Rothstein was "easy" choice as top court appointment Stephen Thorne, Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, March 01, 2006

OTTAWA (CP) - In the end, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it was an easy decision.

Harper confirmed Marshall Rothstein's appointment as justice to the Supreme Court of Canada on Wednesday, saying he's confident the first high-court nominee to face a public hearing will prove an excellent choice.

"The appointment of Judge Rothstein marks an unprecedented development in our history," Harper said in the foyer of the House of Commons.

"For the first time, a Supreme Court justice faced questions from democratically elected members of Parliament, a public event that gave Canadians the opportunity to evaluate the man who will soon sit on Canada's highest court.

"On reflection, this was an easy decision to make and I'm confident that Justice Rothstein will make an excellent addition to the Supreme Court of Canada."

In a one-line statement, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin welcomed the appointment.

A former Federal Court judge from Winnipeg, the 65-year-old Rothstein faced members of Parliament from all four parties during an afternoon-long hearing on Monday.

Rothstein told them judges should stick to the law and leave social agendas to elected politicians.

He tempered his remarks by observing that legislation must always be measured against the Charter of Rights.

But the overall tenor of his comments were expected to ease concerns by some - especially Conservatives - about so-called judicial activism.

Harper, who chose Rothstein from a short list of three candidates agreed to under a process started by the former Liberal government, has spoken of his concern about "judicial temperament" - the degree to which a judge is prepared to apply the law rather than make it.

It's better known as "judicial activism," a pet peeve of many Conservatives for years.

Monday's hearing was low-key, a stark contrast to the protracted, often contentious interrogations of judicial nominees conducted in the United States.

While some contentious questions were allowed, Rothstein was told Monday he was free to answer - or not - as he saw fit. The MPs had no veto power over his appointment.

Rothstein is to replace Justice John Major, who retired in December.

He will be sworn in during a simple ceremony before he sits on the high court's spring session, which begins April 10.

The ceremony will be conducted by the court's registrar and is usually attended by the justice minister, the justices, former colleagues, the attorney general from the judge's home province and the president of his law society.