Marc Nadon cannot take his seat on the Supreme Court of Canada, the court's justices said Friday, in an unprecedented move that blocks Prime Minister Stephen Harper's latest appointment to the top court.
The court ruled that its composition is constitutionally protected, and Parliament's attempt to change the Supreme Court Act through a budget bill is unconstitutional.
The government introduced changes in last December�s budget bill in an effort to make Nadon eligible as a former member of the Quebec bar � as opposed to a current member. The court says that section is void because the government does not have the power to make such amendments unilaterally.
That absolutely must not be allowed. No government should have the ability to put constitutional amendments in the already seedy practice of an omnibus bill.
I'm sure that there is apoplexy in the P.M.O. right now. Isn't it nice to have a truly independent judiciary in this day and age of major league control freaks?
The government introduced changes in last December�s budget bill in an effort to make Nadon eligible as a former member of the Quebec bar � as opposed to a current member. The court says that section is void because the government does not have the power to make such amendments unilaterally.
That absolutely must not be allowed. No government should have the ability to put constitutional amendments in the already seedy practice of an omnibus bill.