Ottawa preparing to announce revival of federal body offering cabinet legal advice
The federal government is preparing to revive an independent commission that would offer advice to cabinet on reforming Canadian laws.
Justice Minister David Lametti's office says it is hoping to make an announcement about the commission "soon," but has offered little detail -- other than saying the minister is "eager to get it going again."
In the 2021 federal budget, Ottawa committed to spend $18 million over five years and $4 million in ongoing annual funding for a new Law Commission of Canada. Its last iteration had been shuttered by Stephen Harper's Conservative government in 2006.
But nearly two years later, the only sign of movement on its creation is a job posting for a commissioner role that appears to have been online and accepting applications since January 2022.
Former Liberal attorney general Allan Rock says having a non-partisan, arm's-length resource to critically examine Canadian laws for weaknesses is a valuable asset.
"I look at the Law Commission as a fabulous resource, which can be essential on behalf of the government and identify areas where reforms are needed," said Rock, who later served as president of the University of Ottawa.
Despite operating and publishing reports as a non-partisan entity, the commission's history has turned it into a bit of a political beach ball.
It was first created in 1971 on the recommendation of the Canadian Bar Association and served without any apparent controversy until Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government closed it down in 1992.
Rock brought it back in 1997 while serving as Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien's justice minister.
Then the Conservatives closed it.
Now the Liberals are reopening it.
Rock says that while he was in office, the commission was adept at identifying weaknesses in the law that the government needed to update or reform.
"Having that kind of commentary is so important. Once you're actually in government, you're so damn busy," he said.
"Once you get into office, the opportunity to look beyond the scope of your mandate and think and read and develop your own intellectual storehouse is about zero, given the overwhelming pressures on your time."
Canadian Bar Association president Steeves Bujold said the existence of a Law Commission in a country like Canada is "extremely useful and needed."
He pointed to recommendations that emerged from previous versions of the commission, including to create a unified family court, update the Bank Act and remove restrictions on same-sex marriage, as examples of its usefulness.
"We need our laws to be effective to be up to date. We need to reduce as much as possible the inefficiencies, the conflicts," he said.
"Some of the laws in the books are really old and are not up to date."
When in operation, the commission has typically been populated by legal experts, practising lawyers, former law enforcement officers and advocates sitting on an advisory council. It is expected to be led by a full-time president and four part-time commissioners.
The online application for the commissioner role says the office "may consider important topics such as: systemic racism in the justice system, access to justice, legal issues around climate change, establishing a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples and rapid technological shifts in the world."
The prospective commission would also be able to answer questions about the constitutionality of proposed legislation and how it could be affected by international laws, including trade agreements.
Ottawa also frequently finds itself pushing through legislation to address court rulings that identify gaps or strike down outdated or unconstitutional sections of law, such as on sex work, mandatory minimum sentencing and medical assistance in dying.
Rock said that the commission would have the capacity to identify those potential problems and help the government address them proactively before the courts do.
But he conceded that governments may still decide to avoid politically fraught areas of the law.
Following a landmark 1993 Supreme Court decision that challenged the prohibition on assisted dying and called on Ottawa to pass new laws, Rock admits his own government didn't make it a priority.
It took another Supreme Court decision in 2015, which ruled that the ban on assisted dying for terminally-ill patients was outright unconstitutional Γüá -- and imposed a deadline for legislation Γüá -- before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals moved forward with a new law.
"The courts bristle at those cases in which legislators do not have the guts to undertake difficult subjects and pass it on to the court," Rock said.
"It's not up to the Supreme Court of Canada to fill in gaps in the law in Canada. It's up to the government to put laws before Parliament that will speak to those gaps. The courts are there to determine the validity of the law tested against the Constitution."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Local Spotlight
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.