Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster): Madam Speaker, I wanted to take this opportunity to use this as my grievance, and it is with respect to what has been happening over the last number of days. I think it is important that as legislators we do have a responsibility of public accountability. What I do not want to do is to reflect in any sort of a negative way on the importance of judicial independence. As I have asked questions with respect to judicial independence over the last week, week and a half, I try as hard as I can to indicate that it is not trying to question the integrity per se of the system, but there is a responsibility to ensure that there is a sense of public accountability.
What I have seen is two issues that have been facing the Minister of Justice (Mr. Toews), and the reason why I felt that I would stand up on a grievance is because my intentions are to advance Hansard to the Chief Justice, so that at least in my mind I know that I have done what I can in terms of ensuring some form of accountability.
There are two issues; the first one is the bilingual candidate, and to that degree, I understand that there was a discussion between the minister and the Chief Justice. There were discussions that talked about the importance of having a bilingual candidate. From what I understand--and nothing has happened to prove otherwise--the Minister of Justice did not try to direct an individual into a candidate position for the cabinet to select. I understand that there was an expression that was given from the Minister of Justice for the need of a bilingual person but no particular individual, and I think that is an important point.
The second thing is the question of the list of seven that was provided, the question being was it in fact rejected or would it be rejected if a bilingual candidate would have not been put on. Well, I stand today because I believe--and people will accuse me of judicial interference, but I do believe the only individual in the province who can really clear the air is in fact the Chief Justice. Failing that, I am prepared to give the benefit of the doubt to the Minister of Justice (Mr. Toews) based on the ministerial statement that he put on the record today.
I want to quote specifically, Madam Speaker, and this is what I am hoping that internally the judicial people, whomever they might be, who get the opportunity to possibly read today, will make note of this particular quote: "However, for her part, I am advised my comments left her uncertain upon leaving our meeting as to my intention to proceed with the process of appointing two Provincial Court judges from the list of seven names that had been left with me at the end of the meeting."
In my opinion, what the Chief Justice--if the minister is quoting accurately when he says that the Chief Justice is aware of this statement and does not have any problems, in essence, with this particular statement--that this statement clearly indicates that it is not conclusive. When she had left the meeting, she was not firmly of the opinion that the list would in fact be rejected if no other names were brought.
Well, that being the case, what we do know for fact is that the Chief Justice is prepared to give attention to what the Minister of Justice has been saying in the sense that she is not ruling it out, the Minister of Justice's interpretation. I think that is very important to recognize. I have a great deal of concerns.
I want to leave that point and go on to the second part, if you like, with respect to the grievance and this is, in essence, what my questions have been about. I think in Manitoba that there is a need for an independent judicial review that takes into consideration not only the way judges are in fact appointed, but goes far beyond that. I am tired of seeing the number of, and in my opinion, what are quite often abuses that take place within our courts, and I think that the public have a lot of valid concerns and opinions in dealing with frustration in regard to what is happening within our courts. The police sense it, our Crowns sense it, a great deal of Manitobans sense it, and that is the reason why I think that it is long overdue.
One of the things that has always frustrated me personally is just the sheer number of remands that take place. It seems to me that we have remand after remand and a good number, maybe most, the vast majority might be for very, very good reasons, Madam Speaker, but I do question the validity of a number of things that happen within the courts. I recognize as a legislator that there is a very fine line, and some might argue that I have crossed that line in making the statements that I have today. But I would argue that because I believe in judicial independence does not necessarily mean that I believe in no accountability to the public. I think that there has to be some sort of public accountability. In the name of judicial independence, we have not seen that to the degree in which there should be, and as a result, you have a good number of our public today that have lost confidence in our court system. I do not believe that I am of a minority opinion on this particular issue.
If you take the time and you consult with your constituents and go in-depth on this particular issue, I believe that a vast majority of Manitobans are not too far off from what it is that I am saying in the need to address the issue of our courts, of our judicial system, in a very independent fashion. I do not believe MLAs should be on it. I think that there is possibly the need to have some individuals who have the expertise and the experience. There is also, most importantly, a need to have individuals from the public participate. That needs to take place.
Madam Speaker, we see significant changes in every department of government, whether it is the Department of Health, Education, and so forth. Many of us would argue, including myself, that change is something that has to happen. It is a question of how you manage that change. Well, there has been very little that I have seen in terms of change. Maybe it is because I am not in discussion on a day-in, day-out basis, but there has been very little positive change that I have seen over the years, yet I hear very strong demands from the public wanting to see these issues within our judicial system being addressed. I do not want to go to my constituents, ultimately, at the end of the day, whenever the next election comes by and say, because of judicial independence, I, as an MLA, was not prepared to say what I believe needed to happen. Because it does need to happen. I will emphasize that again, that if in fact this government recognizes the need for changes to occur within our court system and our judicial system, that they need to take some sort of action.
The government in Alberta has done so. They have at least put forward a task force. If we recognize that there is a problem today, why do we sit back in our chairs and do nothing? That is not the right thing to do. I would ask that the government take action and take action today, as I have asked in previous Question Periods, and we strike and look forward to striking some form of an independent judicial review that would in fact lead us into the next millennium.
With those few words, Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to speak.