Canadian Judicial Council announces next steps for the Inquiry Committee in the case of Justice Paul Cosgrove
Ottawa, 10 November 2004 – The Canadian Judicial Council announced today that the Inquiry Committee established to investigate the conduct of Mr Justice Paul Cosgrove will begin hearings in Toronto on December 8 and 9, 2004. The hearings are open to the public and will be held beginning at 9:30 am at the Federal Court building in Toronto, 330 University Avenue, Courtroom 1 on the 8th Floor.
These two days of hearings have been set aside to consider an application raised by counsel for Mr Justice Cosgrove, challenging the constitutional validity of s. 63(1) of the Judges Act, which is the section under which the Attorney General for Ontario made his request for an inquiry in this matter.
All provincial Attorneys General, and the Minister of Justice for Canada, have been apprised of this question, and the Committee has decided that it will grant intervenor status to any Attorney General upon request. The Canadian Superior Court Judges Association and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association have both applied for, and have received, intervenor status on the application.
No date has been set for the hearing of the merits regarding Mr Justice Cosgrove’s conduct. The Inquiry Committee will decide on next steps only after the constitutional issue has been heard and decided.
The Inquiry Committee is chaired by the Honourable Lance Finch, Chief Justice of British Columbia. Other members are the Honourable Michael MacDonald, Associate Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Nova Scotia; the Honourable Allan Wachowich, Chief Justice, Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, and Mr John Nelligan, of the law firm Nelligan O’Brien Payne in Ottawa. Ms Sheila Block, of the law firm Torys in Toronto, has withdrawn as a member of the Committee to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. She made this decision after learning that her law firm had been involved, in the past, in a matter related to the criminal appeal that has given rise to the current proceeding against Mr Justice Cosgrove. The Minister of Justice has appointed Ms Kirby Chown, of the law firm McCarthy Tétrault, to serve as a fifth member of the Committee.
After the inquiry is concluded, the Committee will report its findings to the Canadian Judicial Council. The Council will then determine whether to recommend to the Minister of Justice that Mr Justice Cosgrove be removed from office. In accordance with Canada’s Constitution, a judge may be removed from office only through a joint resolution of Parliament. The Council’s mandate, under the Judges Act, is to make a recommendation in that regard.
The Canadian Judicial Council is composed of the chief justices and associate chief justices of Canada’s superior courts. Information about the Council is available at: http://www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca/
Contact: Norman Sabourin, Executive Director and General Counsel, 613-949-2246