Justice Nicholas Kasirer will officially join the Supreme Court of Canada on Sept. 16.
The Prime Minister's Office made the date official in a statement this afternoon as part of an expected stamp of approval for Kasirer's appointment.
Kasirer will replace Justice Clement Gascon, who announced in April that he would retire from the high court on Sept. 15.
That date coincides with the latest date Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can call the federal election, launching the campaign period before voting day Oct. 21.
Kasirer has served on the Quebec Court of Appeal for a decade, is an expert in civil law, and also spent 20 years as a professor of law at McGill University, including as dean of the law faculty.
Trudeau nominated Kasirer to replace Gascon on July 10.
Two weeks later, Kasirer spent two hours answering questions from MPs and senators.
He largely avoided going into details on legal issues that might land before the high court, but spoke generally about his view of judges, including that they should be restrained in their work and apply the laws Parliament enacts.
Comments
So, no need to fear the loathed "activist" judges so reviled south of the border. However, it seems to me that the Supreme Court has a duty NOT to enact certain laws that unrestrained political opportunism might succeed in shoving through parliament.
Supreme Court Judges have the duty to apply the third stage in "sober second thought" and the broader, wide angle view that encompasses universal human rights.