AFP
Ottawa
Canada’s high court yesterday rejected Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s appointment of a like-minded justice to the top court, saying the vacancy must be filled by a judge or lawyer from Quebec.
In a six-one decision, Supreme Court justices barred Marc Nadon from taking a vacant seat alongside them, noting that it is one of three reserved for Quebec judges or lawyers.
The ruling is historic and a blow for the Harper government, which has sought to reshape the bench to reflect its socially conservative values.
It comes at a time when the high court is wrestling with the constitutionality of anti-terror measures, proposed senate reforms and other major legal issues facing Canada.
Nadon’s appointment had faced fierce opposition from the government of Quebec and from a Toronto lawyer who challenged the appointment on the technicality mere hours after it was announced last October.
Nadon stepped aside the following day to allow the high court to rule on the matter.
Nadon, 64, practiced law for 20 years in the Canadian province of Quebec, which is unique in Canada for adhering to a French-heritage codified civil law, instead of common law. But for the past two decades he has sat on the federal court.