More Diversity Sought on Federal Court

In an interview in the most recent issue of The Lawyers Weekly, new Federal Court of Canada Chief Justice Paul Crampton explains that he wants greater cultural and gender diversity on the benches of the institution:

"Diversity remains unrealized at the Federal Court, which has no jurists of colour among its 34 judges (one is aboriginal). Eight, or 23.5 per cent, of the judges are women — ​below the federal government’s overall 27.5 per cent track record of appointing women to the Bench (...)".

“ 'Most of our recent recruits have been males, as we have seen some of our more senior female judges go to the Court of Appeal or retire, and so we need to achieve a better balance,' the chief justice acknowledged."

“ 'Obviously, it’s the [justice] minister’s decision who to appoint, but what we want to do is attract [and] encourage…qualified people from around the country to put their applications in, and to feel free to talk to us about what life at the court, and our work, is all about'. ”

The interview also touches upon other issues, such as overhauling the Federal Court’s rules to make them more efficient and user-friendly and evidence in national security cases.

The Federal Court decides legal disputes involving claims against the federal Crown, civil suits in federally-regulated areas (immigration, official languages, aeronautics, oceans and fisheries, intellectual property, etc.) and challenges to the decisions of federal tribunals.