Democracy is in danger: “We must be careful”, warns Canada’s Chief Justice

On an official visit to Washington DC.the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada strictly followed the political crisis caused by the leak of a draft decision that would repeal America’s abortion law.

I was in Washington, the day this famous news came out. It was catastrophiche said in an interview in his Ottawa office.

Demonstrators quickly rallied for and against legal access to abortion in front of the American Supreme Court. Some went to the homes of the judges.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada does not believe that this kind of leakage can happen within his court, which is less polarized and politicized than its American counterpart.

Despite everything, a month later, Richard Wagner said this event shows the weakness of some democratic regimes and of one of their foundations, judicial independence.

” You think that nothing is sacred in some countries and an institution can weaken very quickly. So, like trust, it takes years and years for people to trust institutions, and it takes an event to destroy that trust. “

Like many legal experts, Richard Wagner believes that certain global political trends serve as a kind of warning to Canadians. He cited the attempted insurrection on January 6 in the United States, the rise of disinformation and what he called called truckers Who has besieged Ottawa this winter.

We can’t say to ourselves: “We have judicial independence, we’re in Canada, everything is fine, we have respect for institutions.” No, you have to be careful. And once an incident occurs that could attack the freedom of the judiciary, we must react, we must condemnsaid Richard Wagner, who has served on the Court since 2012 and led it since 2017.

Vulnerable institutions

University of Ottawa law professor Vanessa MacDonnell said the phenomenon of democratic decline, as is the case in many countries, often leads to the politics of the high courts. He thinks of the crisis surrounding the American Supreme Court, some political attacks on the judicial system in Great Britain, and the turmoil that hit legal institutions in Poland and Hungary.

He stressed that Canada is not under particular threat at present, but judicial independence is still weak. Like many people, he noted the political attacks on the Bank of Canada – another independent institution – which is at the heart of the Conservative Party of Canada’s leadership race.

It only makes sense that the chief justice of a supreme court, seeing what was happening elsewhere in the world and how quickly the situation was deteriorating, decided that it was an issue to be dealt with soon, proactively instead. and reactive.he says.

Conservative Senator Claude Carignan, a lawyer who strictly follows legal issues, said political events in the United States often have an impact on Canada. Sometimes he hears, for example, people who confuse the functioning of the Senate of Canada and the Senate of America.

The discourse of what is happening in the United States attacks us in our various mediahe explains. I think the Supreme Court [du Canada] right to want to establish, through a specific communication plan, that there are differences in the Supreme Court of the United States and that when you sit in the Supreme Court of Canada, you are not there to represent a movement to the right or to the left, or of red or blue, but we are there to judge the flesh of judgment according to the present laws.

The Court in the midst of political turmoil

The Supreme Court of Canada prides itself on its own independence from government, but its judges do not live in a bubble.

Earlier this year, anti-sanitation activists blocked border crossings and downtown Ottawa, including the street outside the Supreme Court. Some demonstrators questioned the foundations of Canada’s constitutional democracy, of which the justice system is a part.

Richard Wagner said some demonstrators called in first amendment -which protects freedom of expression in the United States-to claim rights in Canada. This, he believes, proves the high level of disinformation spread on social media.

I always say that the cause of prejudice is ignorance. So the more information we give people, the more they can come up with an idea.he believes.

Approach people

In this context, the Supreme Court has stepped up its efforts to introduce itself to the population and advance its role within the democratic system.

The Court is now publishing a popular version of its decisions, recently with an Instagram account (New window) and begins to sit occasionally outside of Ottawa. After the first experience in Winnipeg in 2019, the Court will hear two cases in Quebec in September, where it will take the opportunity to hold a public meeting.

One of the purposes of these measures is to explain and defend the principle of judicial independence.

It’s not for judges, judicial freedom, it’s for citizens. This is to ensure that citizens understand that when they appear in the courts, they will have access to an impartial and independent judge, whose decision does not depend on an occult influence.said Chief Justice Wagner.

Alternatives to the current system are not very attractive to him.

If they lose confidence in the justice system, what will happen? People will solve their problems on the street and it will become anarchy, eventually, and we will eventually lose the calm, the tranquility, the well -being of the citizens in these cases.

A potentially risky strategy

Sherbrooke University law professor Guillaume Rousseau has applauded the Supreme Court’s greater accessibility in recent years – while recalling the risks of this approach.

” Because of the Canadian Charter of Rights, in particular, the political role of the Supreme Court is more important than ever. In a democracy, when you have political power, it is clearly very healthy to engage in political communication, to explain yourself, to worry about transparency and accessibility for citizens. “

However, Guillaume Rousseau – who advised the Quebec government on the Law relating to state secularism – recalls that the Court exposes itself to criticism whenever it changes its practices and expands the boundaries of its public action.

For example, he said the passage of the Quebec Supreme Court will take place in the midst of the provincial election campaign. In addition, one of the two reasons on the schedule has to do with a dispute between Ottawa and Quebec over the legality of home cannabis cultivation.

It has to do with the division of powers, hence the autonomy of Quebec, so it can be very finesaid Professor Rousseau.

Chief Justice Wagner knew he was taking a risk by speaking more openly and often in public, or even by moving the court out of Ottawa. He still believes the risk of doing nothing is greater.

Of course you have to be careful. There are always critics, but me […] I think the benefits are greater than some reviews may have.