Ottawa: The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Deputy Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and Shadow Minister for Justice, has sent a letter to the Chair of the Canadian Judicial Council regarding the disclosure of confidential information related to the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The following is an excerpt of the letter:

Confidentiality in the judicial appointments process is crucial to protecting the integrity of the selection process.  This confidentiality also seeks to ensure that the reputations of judges not ultimately selected are not tarnished.

It is of great concern that because of this unauthorized disclosure, the reputation of a respected jurist may have been damaged for political purposes.

Ms. Raitt also wrote to the Commissioner of Federal Judicial Affairs Marc Giroux regarding this matter and he replied that he is “deeply concerned and troubled about the release to the media of any confidential information…that pertains to judicial appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada.”

“The SNC-Lavalin Affair has raised serious questions about the rule of law in Canada and the degree to which the Prime Minister’s Office has interfered in it,” said Raitt.  “I would therefore hope that, at its next meeting, the Canadian Judicial Council would consider the circumstances surrounding these leaks, and their impact on judicial independence.”

You can view the full letter by clicking here.