New justice minister arrives amid bail debate, vows fresh look at judicial vacancies

Canada's new justice minister says he plans to tell his staff and department to move "expeditiously" on addressing judicial vacancies, an issue that dogged his predecessors.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picked former human rights and constitutional lawyer Arif Virani to replace David Lametti when he unveiled his new cabinet this week a shuffle meant to renew the Liberal benches after nearly eight years in government.

Trudeau said he assembled the team to respond to economic headwinds, but the changes come as more Canadians are worrying about crime an issue on whichthe Opposition Conservatives have seized.

A Statistics Canada report from this week found there was an uptick in violent crime last year. That signals a possible return to a trend that was interrupted by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought with it lockdowns and an overall drop in crime.

Another issue that lands on Virani's plate is a shortage of judges that has led to delays in court proceedings. As of July 1, there were 81 vacancies in federally appointed judicial positions across the country.

First elected in the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park when the Liberals swept to power in 2015, Virani served as parliamentary secretary to both Lametti and his predecessor, Jody Wilson-Raybould.

WATCH | Violent crime athighest level since 2007

Violent crime in Canada spikes to highest level since 2007

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In a report released Thursday, Statistics Canada researchers found that violent crime rose by five per cent in 2022, reaching its highest point since 2007.

The issue of judicial vacancies persisted under both ministers.Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner wrote a personal warning to Trudeau earlier this year about the need to speed up the appointment process.

So what does Virani plan to do differently?

"That's where a fresh perspective and a fresh approach can assist," he told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday.

Part of that means "giving marching orders" to people in the minister's office and the Department of Justice, he said.

"We need to be doing things, not compromising on quality, but we need to be doing things expeditiously."

Virani said one of the first briefings he received was on judicial vacancies. One of the issues the government is dealing with is a shortage of applicants, he said.

"That's a bit frustrating when we want to appoint judges [who are]also reflective of the diversity of Canada, which is important to me and important to the prime minister," he said.

Solving that means reaching out to South Asian, Black, Indigenous or otherwise diverse lawyers and ensuring "people see themselves possibly as a judge," said Virani.

He said part of the solution is to ensure that staff in his office and the Prime Minister's Office are working together.

Bail reform a priority, minister says

Virani suggested the government could apply some of the lessons it learned in mobilizing the bureaucracy to help resettle some 25,000 Syrian refugees between November 2015 and early 2016, just months into his first mandate.

When Parliament resumes in September, he said, his efforts will be dedicated to shepherding Bill C-48 through the House of Commons.

That's the government legislation that seeks to make it more difficult for people accused of certain violent offences to access bail.

Lametti introduced the bill amid widespread calls from premiers and police chiefs earlier this year for the federal government to toughen its rules following a string of high-profile violent crimes.