JUST Committee Meeting

STANDING COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

COMITÉ PERMANENT DE LA JUSTICE ET DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE

EVIDENCE

[Recorded by Electronic Apparatus]

Tuesday, December 11, 2001

• 0936

[English]

The Chair (Mr. Andy Scott (Fredericton, Lib.)): Good morning. I call to order this 56th meeting of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Today, we will be proceeding with clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-30, An Act to establish a body that provides administrative services to the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Court Martial Appeal Court and the Tax Court of Canada, to amend the Federal Court Act, the Tax Court of Canada Act and the Judges Act, and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts.

I believe we again have officials from the Department of Justice to assist us in our deliberations. We went through the exercise of having the various elements of the bill explained to us last week, so perhaps we can proceed directly to clause-by-clause if no one has any objection and if there's nothing you thought about over the weekend that you feel we need to know. No? Had you answered in the affirmative, I'd have wondered about your weekend.

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Chair: Pursuant to Standing Order 75(1), consideration of clause 1 is postponed, so I shall call clauses 2 through 4.

(Clauses 2 to 4 inclusive agreed to)

(On clause 5—Appointment)

The Chair: I see an amendment to clause 5, and it is identified as BQ-1.

[Translation]

Mr. Lanctôt.

Mr. Robert Lanctôt (Châteauguay, BQ): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

As you know, the last time around, I asked a number of questions of the deputy minister and of counsel. At this time, I would like to move an amendment to ensure real judicial independence in the proposed legislation, especially since this is the ultimate aim of the bill.

The bill stipulates that the Chief Administrator must report to the minister or to Parliament. My amendment would not diminish the bill in any way. On the contrary, it would make its provisions even more transparent. If my amendment is adopted, clause 5(1) would read as follows:

5.(1) The Chief Administrator shall be selected in accordance with the procedure prescribed by regulations from among the candidates nominated, and shall be appointed by the House of Commons to hold office during pleasure for a term of up to five years.

Thus, the incumbent would not be appointed by the Governor in Council. I think this would make the judicial process even more transparent and independent.

The Chair: Thank you, Mr. Lanctôt.

[English]

Mr. Owen.

Mr. Stephen Owen (Vancouver Quadra, Lib.): Thank you, Mr. Chair.

With respect to this suggested change, we have three branches of government, of course. To my mind, judicial independence would not be assisted by having a chief administrator appointed by the legislative branch any more than it would be to have one appointed by the executive branch. The fact is that the function this person will be performing is one that combines the administration of justice with the administration of the judicial process and the courts. Therefore, it is much more logical that this person be appointed in the normal way for this type of a position, by Order in Council.

The Chair: Thank you, Mr. Owen, Mr. Lanctôt. I think we had some exploration of the concept last week, so I'm prepared to call the question.

(Amendment negatived)

(Clause 5 agreed to on division)

• 0940

(Clauses 6 to 184 inclusive agreed to)

(On clause 185)

The Chair: I see an amendment to clause 185. It is a government amendment identified as G-1.

Mr. Owen.

Mr. Stephen Owen: I'll ask the officials to present this technical amendment, please.

Ms. Adair Crosby (Counsel, Judicial Affairs Unit, Department of Justice): This is a very technical amendment that basically arose as a result of a drafting oversight. The inclusion of subclause 185(10) would provide for deputy judges of the Tax Court of Canada to have their instruments of appointment reissued under the Great Seal when, in fact, they're not issued now. This was strictly a technical oversight.

The Chair: Thank you very much.

(Amendment agreed to)

(Clause 185 as amended agreed to)

(Clauses 186 to 191 inclusive agreed to)

(On clause 192—Special Import Measures Act)

The Chair: We have a government amendment, and it is G-2.

Ms. Judy Bellis (Head, Judicial Affairs Unit, Department of Justice): This has to do with the NAFTA, which requires that in any section of the Special Imports Measures Act, it be specified that the act applies to any amendments. Two of the sections that were mentioned in the bill, through a drafting oversight, were not included in the special section that has to be included to cover the Special Import Measures Act with respect to NAFTA. This just makes sure all of the provisions are included.

(Amendment agreed to)

(Clause 192 as amended agreed to)

(Clauses 193 to 199 inclusive agreed to)

(Schedule agreed to)

(Clause 1 agreed to)

The Chair: Shall the title carry?

Some hon. members: Agreed.

The Chair: Shall the bill carry as amended?

Some hon. members: Agreed.

The Chair: Shall I report the bill, with amendments, to the House?

Some hon. members: Agreed.

The Chair: Shall the committee order a reprint for use at report stage?

Some hon. members: No.

The Chair: On that happy note, thanks for dropping by. We'll all have an opportunity to share each other's company tomorrow afternoon, when we will be hearing from Mr. Strahl on Bill C-217, I believe. For those who may not be around, have a good one.

[Translation]

Mr. Lanctôt.

Mr. Robert Lanctôt: Thank you for your holiday wishes.

We received a notice of meeting for Thursday. If the House adjourns before then, the committee won't be meeting. Is that correct?

[English]

The Chair: That's correct. I would wonder about a quorum if the House is sitting—and notices have been sent. But in the event the House isn't sitting, my sense is that we won't be sitting Thursday morning. If the committee wants to sit, Mr. Cadman is prepared to chair.

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Chair: Anyway, no, I would have assumed that if the House wasn't sitting, the committee wouldn't meet on Thursday morning.

On that note, the meeting is adjourned.