Minister of Community Affairs and Attorney General, the Honourable Mitchell Murphy, announced today that Regulations have been enacted under the authority of the Provincial Court Act to provide for the establishment of the Judicial Remuneration Commission.
The Judicial Remuneration Regulations were enacted by Cabinet at its meeting of 25th of September 1997. The Commission shall consist of three individuals: one person nominated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council as a representative of the government, one person nominated by the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court as a representative of the judges, and one person who shall act as chair to be nominated by the other two representatives. They were necessitated by the decision last week of the Supreme Court of Canada in reference re remuneration of Judges of the Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island; Reference Re Independence and Impartiality of Judges of the Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island; R. V. Campbell; R. V. Ekmecic; R. V. Wickman; and Manitoba Provincial Judges Assn. v. Manitoba.
The cases cover a range of issues relating to the independence of Provincial Courts but, primarily, how the guarantee of judicial independence in s. 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights And Freedoms restricts the manner in which Provincial Governments and legislatures can reduce, freeze or increase the salaries of Provincial Court Judges.
Section 11(d) of the Charter of Rights And Freedoms Provides that any person charged with an offence has the right to a fair and public hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal. Independence will be seen to be lacking if financial security is lacking. The Supreme Court of Canada has clearly stated that the Provinces are under a constitutional obligation to establish judicial compensation commissions which are structured in accordance with the criteria listed. Any changes or freezes in judicial remuneration made without prior recourse to these commissions are unconstitutional.
The ruling makes it very clear as to how both the Government and the Judges are to proceed on the issues of salaries and benefits in the future. In that regard, the regulation requires that the commission shall meet before June 30, 1998, to conduct an inquiry respecting the salaries and benefits for judges.
Murphy is very pleased that the province has moved quickly on this issue to comply with the Supreme Court of Canada decision.