Canadian Judicial Council to hold an inquiry into the conduct of Justice Robin Camp at the request of the Attorney General of Alberta

Ottawa, 7 January 2016 – The Canadian Judicial Council has confirmed that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Alberta has requested that the matter involving Justice Camp be referred to an Inquiry Committee. The Judges Actrequires the Council to commence an inquiry at the request of the attorney general of a province to review whether a judge of a superior court should be removed from office. 

In accordance with Council's Inquiries and Investigations by-Laws, the Inquiry Committee will be comprised of an uneven number of members, the majority of which will be Council members. The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice, has been invited to designate one or more members of the Bar. The names of the Inquiry Committee members will be made public upon appointment.

This is the first Inquiry Committee to be constituted under the Council’s new By-laws, which provide for greater efficiency and fairness. Hearings of an inquiry committee are normally public.

The Inquiry Committee will ultimately submit a report to the Council setting out its findings and conclusions about whether to recommend the removal of the judge from office. Council will then make a recommendation to the Minister of Justice of Canada. Under Canada’s Constitution, a judge may only be removed from office by Joint resolution of Parliament.

Information about the Council and its work to foster public confidence in the judiciary can be found on the Council’s website at www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca.

Contact: 
Norman Sabourin
Executive Director and Senior General Counsel
(613) 288-1566 ext 313

Attachments: Letter from the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Alberta and response from the CJC