Rothstein – Press Release & Backgrounder
Press Release:
JUSTICE ROTHSTEIN briefing material released by Law Blog
February 26, 2006
Toronto: In time for today’s pioneering parliamentary hearing to meet Supreme Court of Canada nominee Justice Marshall Rothstein, Weblog SLAW (https://www.slaw.ca) today released in-depth information regarding the nominee selection process and the candidate.
On Monday, February 27, 2006, 1 p.m. EST, CPAC will broadcast the interview of Mr. Justice Rothstein by the Ad Hoc Committee to Review a Nominee for the Supreme Court of Canada. SLAW has assembled a comprehensive set of links to key news, commentary, government websites, and extensive court decisions by Mr. Justice Rothstein. “The Marshall Rothstein Pages” (https://www.slaw.ca/marshall-rothstein-pages) marks a first in Canada: SLAW’s page is the most timely and comprehensive resource on any Supreme Court candidate.
SLAW has included a list of ten qualities the nominee brings to the Supreme Court and a break-down of how some of his decisions at the Federal Court level fared later at the Supreme Court level, whether upheld or overturned. Readers across Canada have been invited to submit questions they would like to see asked of Mr. Justice Rothstein in Monday’s session.
SLAW is a co-operative weblog about Canadian legal research and technology. SLAW was founded by Simon Fodden, Professor Emeritus at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. Contributors include lawyers, law librarians, law professors and legal researchers from across Canada. For further information, visit the website at https://www.slaw.ca .
Contact:
Simon Fodden
sfodden@osgoode.yorku.ca
416 709 3633
Simon Chester
Schester@heenan.ca
416 643 6905
Backgrounder:
On February 23, 2006, the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office announced a nominee for new member of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Honourable Mr. Justice Marshall E. Rothstein of the Federal Court of Appeal. Traditionally, the Prime Minister has selected new members to the Supreme Court in a closed procedure that varied according to the person in office and party in power. The new Prime Minister, Conservative Stephen Harper who was elected on January 23rd, was under pressure to immediately appoint someone new to the Supreme Court to replace The Honourable Mr. Justice John Major who retired in December.
Partly because Parliament is not yet sitting, and partly because of pressures to make the selection process more transparent, Harper had to quickly create an alternative process for appointing a judge. He selected the nominee from a short list of three candidates created by Liberal former justice minister Irwin Cotler before his party was voted out of power in January. The selected nominee, Mr. Justice Rothstein, will be undergoing a televised interview tomorrow (Monday, February 27, 2006) by an adhoc committee made up of members from all political parties with seats in Parliament (there are four). This new procedure is controversial, with critics warning it could undermine independence of the court. It is also precedent-setting for the way Supreme Court justices could be selected in the future. The names of the other two candidates were not meant to be made public, but those names were leaked to the media on February 22nd. Constance Hunt, who sits on the Alberta Court of Appeal, and Peter MacKinnon, president of the University of Saskatchewan and their former dean of law.
In addition to posting The Marshall Rothstein Pages (at https://www.slaw.ca/marshall-rothstein-pages/), SLAW is asking readers to contribute the questions they would like asked of Mr. Justice Rothstein: https://www.slaw.ca/2006/02/25/a-question-mr-justice/
