Judges getting political, politicians being agreeable, and me on the radio...

Do you think only the Americans have politicized their courts? Think again!

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We like to think that judges in Canada aren’t political. That’s just something that the Americans do, the Democrats appoint liberal judges, and the Republicans appoint conservative judges, and the court system becomes highly partisan.

Plenty of Canadians think we don’t do that, they would be wrong.

Case in point is the ruling I’m writing about in the Toronto Sun today. I dare anyone to read the decision from Justice Renu Mandhane and tell me it’s not political. It drips with far-left ideology, it is steeped in in critical race theory, the thing it is lacking in my view is an understanding of the law.

Read the Sun column for my take on the decision, but for now, I’d like to look at the issue of political judges.

Justice Mandhane is an appointment from 2020 by the Trudeau government and then Justice Minister David Lametti. Prior to that she had spent years as the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, a position she was given by former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

In both instances, Mandhane was given these positions because her ideology aligned with the people making the appointments. Far left view of the law, strong ideological bent in how the job is approached, damn the man and the system.

It’s the same for Justice Paul Schabas, who I’ve written about in relation to him stopping Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s plan to rip out bike lanes. Justice Schabas was also the one who wrote the decision on Jordan Peterson being ordered to attend social media reeducation camp.

He was a Lametti/Trudeau appointment in 2019 after years of being an activist lawyer and sometime donor to Liberal and NDP politicians. These judges were appointed for their political views and how they would bring those views to the bench and their decisions.

When Doug Ford said he wanted more judges and justices of the peace who thought like him, the political establishment was in an uproar. How dare Ford politicize judicial appointments? That’s only for federal Liberals to do.

The Trudeau government was blatant in politicizing their judicial appointments; they were even caught running prospective names through their donor database.

Liberal politicians will get you soft on crime Liberal judges which will only get you crazy Liberal rulings from the bench.

What exactly did they agree to...

Canada’s premiers met in Saskatoon with the PM and if you are unsure what they agreed on, you aren’t alone. There was speculation that Prime Minister Mark Carney might announce which major projects submitted by the provinces were deemed in the national interest and would go forward.

Instead, they talked about what a great meeting they had, best in 10 years according to some, and released a vague list of criteria for the project that will be considered.

• Strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience, and security.

• Offer undeniable benefits to Canada and support economic growth.

• Have a high likelihood of successful execution.

• Are a high priority for Indigenous leaders.

• Have clean growth potential, such as the use of clean technologies and sustainable practices.

Now, this could apparently include major oil and gas projects such as pipelines or LNG export terminals, or it might not. There really were no commitments made, just future discussions.

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A little bit of audio...

I’m an old radio guy at heart. It’s where I started in the business, I was never a writer or a TV host – though let’s be honest, unlike most in the business I can do all three.

On Monday, the latest edition of the Full Comment Podcast – essentially a radio show on demand – dropped. I spoke with John Ivison and Stuart Thomson of the National Post about the return of Parliament last week and what is expected of Carney.

Also on Monday, I filled in for Jerry Agar on Newstalk 1010, a radio station that I’ve had a more than 20-year relationship with, I used to be their Parliamentary Bureau Chief. I had a great time filling in for Jerry, and you can listen here if so inclined.

What to read today...

Words have meanings and at times consequences, that is what Warren Kinsella is writing about at the Toronto Sun in the wake of another attacker screaming “Free Palestine” as they committed their act of terror. My question remains, how long until an attack that hurts people happens here?

Brad Hunter takes a look at a long list of criminals being booted from the United States including a Canadian convicted of terrorism in India who took years to extradite.

And Tristin Hopper on the economic impact of Canada’s out of control immigration system.