Just days after a federal election was held, Ontario Premier Doug Ford stood at a lectern in Mississauga last week and ranted against the province’s judicial system. When making an announcement on provincial bail reforms and speeding up the appointment of new judges, Ford attacked the current system of appointing judges, and their role.
Ford claimed that judges are “bleeding hearts” and soft on crime. His rant extended also to the system, which recently put a court-ordered injunction against a recently-passed bill that gave the province more powers to remove bike lanes from city streets. In his diatribe, the Premier said he would like to buy out the terms of existing judges, and also said Ontario should adopt an American-style judiciary, where judges are elected.
The backlash from the legal community is understandable. It even prompted a rare public statement from the top three court justices of the province. “Every Canadian has the constitutional right to have their legal issues decided by a fair and impartial judiciary. Our justice system is founded on public confidence that decisions, whether popular or not, are fully heard and fairly made. It is crucial that the judiciary is both actually independent and appears to be independent so the public can be confident that judicial decisions are made without bias,” the justices said in that statement.
There are two issues here – first with bail reform and the appearance that justices are soft on crime. The Ontario court system for years has struggled with having enough resources, including filling judicial vacancies and the hiring of Crown prosecutors. An under-resourced court system means delays, which goes against the tenets of the legal system. Ontario also has a resource-starved corrections system, meaning there are fewer places to hold accused criminals when charged – this was made even more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, as in health care and education, the Ford government has proven it focuses on the bricks-and-mortar needs of constructing buildings, and does not fund the needed staff to operate facilities or improve the system.
Secondly, Premier Ford does not like his legislation being challenged by anyone – even if it may be unconstitutional. That does not mean the judiciary should be reformed to an American-style system – it means our judiciary is working the way that legislation is supposed to and as an independent arbiter of the rule of law. If new laws passed by a legislature appear to violate the two most important documents in Canada – the Constitution and the Charter – then they should be challenged.
Ford can be upset that a court paused his law while it is reviewed further. The Premier should try harder to pass legislation that does not appear to violate the spirit of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Canadian Constitution. The court will decide if they do, as an independent arbiter.
Premier Ford really needs to focus on matters that need his attention in Ontario – instead of mimicking the ranting, off-the-cuff, say-anything policy dictates of the current U.S. President, just because he is challenged. That is a very un-Canadian way to govern the province.
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