Judges’ working conditions are ‘deteriorating,’ says chief justice

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OTTAWA – Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner says it’s “very difficult” to be a judge in Canada, that the job doesn’t pay enough in some provinces and that conditions are “deteriorating” for magistrates across the country.

During an annual press conference with reporters Monday, Wagner called on provincial governments to increase the resources available to judges to help make the job more attractive to potential candidates and easier for current justices.

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That could include a raise, particularly in provinces where cost-of-living concerns are hitting hardest, he suggested. Wagner is also head of the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC), which represents federally appointed judges.

“I’m told by some chief justices in the country, specifically in provinces where the cost of living is higher like B.C. and Ontario, that they have a hard time to attract candidates for the bench,” Wagner said.

Federally appointed judges’ salaries are set by the Judges Act and receive a cost of living boost yearly.

Currently, Superior Court, provincial Court of Appeal, Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal judges make $396,700 annually, while their chief justices earn $435,000. Judges who live in northern territory receive an additional $12,000 allowance.

Supreme Court justices earn $472,400 yearly, while Chief Justice Wagner makes $510,000.

Wagner said that judges’ wages and salary are one issue, but that working conditions for sitting justices are “very difficult” these days because they lack support in most provinces.

He cited a lack of administrative assistance for judges and increasingly obsolete technology used by courts. Judges and legal experts across the country have also denounced a lack of courtrooms, insufficient numbers of clerks and registry employees and a concerning number of judicial vacancies in recent years.

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These issues are pushing some lawyers away from the judiciary, Wagner said.

“It has become very difficult for judges to work and it is known … in the legal community. You will see some lawyers who will refuse to apply if only because of that,” he told reporters.

“I think that judges have good conditions, I must say. I think we are privileged in a way, but (judges) are doing a very difficult task. For the last couple of years, we have seen the conditions deteriorate.”

Wagner also said the CJC will soon launch a study into judges’ health and well-being to better understand the challenges they face.

Judicial vacancies are a key concern to Wagner. Last year, he penned a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau highlighting his deep concern with a growing number of vacancies (roughly 80 at the time) and the speed (or lack thereof) at which the Liberals were appointing judges.

On Monday, Wagner said he was encouraged by a wave of appointments by the government in recent months that has reduced vacancies to 57 but insisted more work still needs to be done.

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“I would expect that the government would appoint judges in a timely fashion, given that they know, very often months before, that the position will become vacant in six months,” he said.

“I saw some improvements and I am confident now that the situation can be corrected,” he added.

Wagner also took an unusually harsh swipe at certain politicians, pundits and members of the media, whom he accused of reacting to Supreme Court of Canada rulings before reading them and then spreading “disinformation” about the decisions.

He was particularly irked about controversy around a criminal case decision about a sexual assault penned by Supreme Court of Canada Justice Sheila Martin earlier this year in which she used the term “person with a vagina.”

Some politicians and columnists, including in National Post, accused the Supreme Court of trying to erase the word “woman” (which appears frequently in the ruling). The controversy snowballed when Quebec’s National Assembly passed a unanimous motion tabled by CAQ Minister Martine Biron denouncing the Supreme Court‘s use of the phrase “person with a vagina.”

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“It’s important that these debates happen respectfully and, above all, in an informed manner. People should at least read the rulings before criticizing them. We can see the damages that are caused when a judicial decision is reported erroneously, or out of context, for sensationalist reasons,” Wagner said.

He said the saga around the decision penned by Martin was an example of disinformation.

“An elected official read an article … that commented one of our decisions and interpreted it wrongly,” he said without identifying the politician.

“Their reading was wrong, and if the person had read properly, they would have noted that under no circumstances did the Supreme Court want to devalue the notion of a woman in Canada.”

Biron responded on social media Monday afternoon that she read the Supreme Court of Canada‘s ruling at the time but did not intend to pick a fight with the court.

“My role as Minister responsible for the Status of Women is to protect and defend the rights of women. I intend to take every opportunity to fulfil that duty,” she wrote.

National Post
cnardi@postmedia.com

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