Viewpoint 42-3: Tradition Triumphs: A New Guard for Canada's Supreme Court.

• Author: Karbani, Tasneem

On June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada hinted that it would be making an "announcement of interest" later that afternoon. What could it possibly be, many of us legal beagles wondered. Was it an unexpected judicial retirement? Could it be that the Chief Justice of Canada herself was retiring?

Amid the predictions among legal academics, lawyers, and journalists alike, the Supreme Court of Canada released the official news--the Honourable Chief Justice of Canada Beverley McLachlin would be retiring from the Supreme Court, effective December 15, 2017 (nine months before her mandatory retirement date in September 2018).

In the six months since this announcement, opinions and predictions were focused on two questions: 1) who will be the next Chief Justice of Canada, and 2) who will fill the seat on the Court left vacant after McLachlin retires. With these selections now made, attitudes are also widespread on what went right and what went wrong in the process.

Who will be the next Chief Justice of Canada?

The strong views that emerged on these two questions showed the investment that everyone from legal academics to members of the public had in the future of our nation's highest court.

The importance of the role of the Chief Justice of Canada cannot be overstated. The Chief Justice is the highest ranking judge in Canada, representing the Canadian judiciary both at home and abroad, and maintaining a vital voice in ensuring the rule of law is advanced without succumbing to any political pressure. Interestingly, the Chief Justice can become the Administrator of Canada and exercises all the powers of the Governor General in the event the Governor General dies, becomes incapacitated, is removed, or is absent from the country for more than a month.

When it came to guessing who would fill this judicial office, however, it seemed people were divided on who would be the best fit. A number of the current judges on the Court are relatively new appointments with limited experience. Many believed Justice Rosalie Abella was the logical choice for Chief Justice given her 13-years of experience on the Court and her position as the most senior justice after McLachlin.

Others, however, seemed to believe the Prime Minister would follow the convention of rotating Chief Justices between those from the civil law jurisdiction and those from the common law--that is, alternating between Quebec and the rest of Canada. In that spirit, Justice Richard Wagner from Quebec who had been on the Court since 2012 was the favoured...