Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, May 05, 2014

Canadian Bar Association: Deeply Concerned About Spat Between Harper And Beverley McLachlin

OTTAWA - The association that represents lawyers in Canada is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to acknowledge the chief justice of the Supreme Court has done nothing wrong.

The Canadian Bar Association says it's deeply concerned about the public spat between Harper and Beverely McLachlin.

Harper has accused McLachlin of acting improperly last July when she advised his office that Marc Nadon, a Federal Court of Appeal judge, might not fit the legal criteria set for Quebec appointees to the Supreme Court.

McLachlin issued a statement saying all she wanted to ensure was that the government was aware of the eligibility issue, but didn't express any opinion on the merits of the eligibility issue.

Bar association president Fred Headon says he hopes this is a misunderstanding but is expressing concern that Harper's comments could erode public confidence in the Supreme Court.

He says Harper should clarify publicly that McLachlin acted appropriately.

Harper ended up nominating Nadon and McLachlin swore him in last fall.

But constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati challenged the appointment and the Supreme Court ruled in March that Nadon did not meet the legislated eligibility requirements.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author:  CP

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