Top court nominee chosen for expertise in criminal, constitutional law, MPs hear

OTTAWA — The chair of the independent advisory board tasked with helping to fill a vacancy on Canada’s top court says they were looking for a candidate who was an expert in both criminal and constitutional law. 

Wade MacLaughlin, a former premier of Prince Edward Island, spoke at a parliamentary committee today about why the board shortlisted Mary Moreau, the chief justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, as a candidate to join the Supreme Court.

MacLaughlin says Moreau was one of two people the board recommended to Trudeau, out of a pool of 13 applicants.

Justice Minister Arif Virani, who also testified today, says they needed to find a candidate who was functionally bilingual and who hailed from Western or Northern Canada, since the court must have representation from all regions of the country.