Justice Richard Wagner is concerned about the stability of our democratic foundations

Judge Wagner, who was a guest of the Council on International Relations of Montreal (CORIM), expressed concern about the stability of the foundation of our society, which is democracy and the rule of law.

Do not underestimate your influence in this matter. You can inspire more than one to better understand the intricacies of our democracyhe argued.

Encourage those around you to learn about the upcoming election and exercise their right to vote, especially young people. Learn to recognize and counter the spread of misinformation.

The magistrate cited, among other things, examples of the convoy of truckers in Ottawa, a leak in the United States Supreme Court and the involvement of the United Kingdom Supreme Court in Brexit to illustrate his concerns.

Richard Wagner considers his role not the only one to safeguard the independence of the judiciarybut also to react when the rule of law is in question, especially when our democratic and independent institutions, whether judicial or otherwise, are under threat..

Truckers and Misinformation

In the case of his called called the freedom convoy in Ottawa, he noted that the highest court was able to function thanks to police support, but the journalists, who are doing their job a very fast from the Court, unfortunately cannot say the same. They were harassed by some demonstrators, insulted and abused them. Reporters shouted.

Concerned that the media needs to hire security services to protect their employees, he argued thatsuch a slip-up should be a source of consternation for all of us.

The Chief Justice referred to that professional journalists adhere to strict codes of ethics and professional standards, and these days they are on the front line in the fight against intentional disinformation campaigns.

Richard Wagner recalls that the pandemic led many citizens to live online, where there was a lot of misinformation, a threat to democratic institutions.

The slippages observed in Ottawa partly due to misinformationaccording to him, and brought people to lose confidence in their institutions, hence the importance for all actors in society to redouble their efforts to inform, educate and educate our countrymen in full transparency with the aim of maintaining, even if increased , their confidence and their respect for our institutions.

Roe vs. Wade: An unforgivable violation of privacy

As luck would have it, Justice Wagner was visiting Washington to meet with his counterparts from the U.S. Supreme Court when the leak of judges ’deliberations in the Roe v. Case occurred. Wade. This leak revealed that the highest court was in the process of reversing the historic 1973 decision, which suggested a return to the criminalization of abortion.

I feel like I am living in a historic momentsaid Judge Wagner, as he was interviewed on stage by columnist Yves Boisvert, of The Hurry up, following his speech. He had to be secretly taken to the United States Supreme Court for his meeting, while large demonstrations took place in front of the building.

Richard Wagner made no secret of the passion that shook him, a leak at this level that is unthinkable.

It is sad to see such an incident destroying the credibility – I think it will be permanent – of the Court. I hope we never get there again.

” I’m not sure that bodes well for the rest of the story. It’s hard to imagine anything more serious for a court of law and more so for a Court of Appeal and a Supreme Court. It was catastrophic. This is a completely unforgivable violation of confidentiality. “

Brexit and the tabloids

In the case of Brexit, he recounted another incident that could undermine public confidence in the courts.

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has ruled that the British government cannot act without the consent of Parliament. This decision was not well received by the British population who only supported Brexit through a referendum.

Again, incidentally, I am simultaneously participating in an exchange with the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in the wake of this decision. British tabloids had a blast publishing pictures of judges and headlines like – and I quote – Enemies of the State, Judges block Brexit at Judges against people. This is an outright attack on the judiciary, which is only doing its duty to decide on the Brexit implementation process.

” The least we can say is that such attacks can only serve to undermine public confidence both in the judiciary and in all so-called democratic institutions. “

Judicial independence requires constant vigilance. No country, not even Canada, can claim to be immune to snags, even thin-veiled attacks, in judicial liberty.said Judge Wagner.

” No vaccine in the world can vaccinate us against skids, and it is wrong to think that it only happens to others. So, I call on others to support, at the very least, the protection of the democratic values ​​and principles that are so dear to us. Our freedom and our well -being are at stake. “

A bilingual Supreme Court

Richard Wagner reiterated his deep belief that all Supreme Court justices should be bilingual; a matter of respect, he said. With the same breath, he removed doubts about the potential adverse effects of this condition on candidacies from diversity or First Nations.

Me, I do not accept the argument that we would deprive ourselves of candidates of diversity. People from different backgrounds need to be named, including Indigenous people. I have always said for a few years that I dreamed of sitting on a judge of Aboriginal descenthe revealed.

There is only one unilingual Anglophone judge left on the highest court, Judge Michael Moldaver, who will retire on September 1st. He was appointed to the Supreme Court by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

As for blaming sometimes the courts for replacing elected officials when deciding on controversial questions, he denies them.

We often hear that when there are decisions that do not suit a group. We hear less when they fit in!

” The government of judges, I don’t believe that. Take the Supreme Court of Canada. Parliament gave judges the obligation and responsibility to interpret the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Nothing is more legitimate than that: Parliament gives judges the obligation and duty to explain, and we accept it. “

Richard Wagner was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in December 2017. He previously served on the highest court in the land since 2012. He previously served on the Court of Appeals in 2011 and in 2012 after serving as a judge on the Superior Court, from 2004 to 2011.