Quebec Superior Court ruled that the province’s justice minister does not have the power to block a requirement that judicial candidates be bilingual.
The move comes after a standoff between Lucie Rondeau, the chief justice of the Court of Quebec, and Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Christian Always sided with Rondeau. In his ruling, he wrote that “the Minister of Justice does not have any power regarding the drafting of notices of selection of candidates for the office of judge at the Court of Quebec.”
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Quebec justice minister rules out making it mandatory judges be bilingual
The dispute stems from six calls for applications out of 25 in the civil or youth division courts. The chief justice deemed bilingualism was necessary for those six positions because they were located in Montreal, Valleyfield and Saint-Jérôme.
Jolin-Barrette argued that all lawyers should have the opportunity to become a judge, even if they are unilingual francophones.
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Reference-globalnews.ca