New Supreme Court appointment coming ‘imminently’ as Carney considers two top applicants

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to nominate his preferred candidate for the new Supreme Court of Canada justice before the end of the month after presenting his decision to cabinet. Photo by Blair Gable/Postmedia

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OTTAWA — Justice Minister Sean Fraser says the new Supreme Court justice will be appointed “imminently” as the prime minister is set to pick from two top candidates to replace retired Justice Sheilah Martin.

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“I expect that this appointment will be made imminently… we’ll be moving as quick as we possibly can,” Fraser told National Post on Tuesday. “When there is an ability to get a job done, he’s not one to wait,” Fraser added of Prime Minister Mark Carney.

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Multiple government and judicial sources confirmed to National Post that the two candidates being considered by Carney are Glenn Joyal and Anna Loparco. The sources were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the appointment process publicly.

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Joyal is the chief justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba, a job he’s held since 2011. Loparco was appointed as a judge to the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in 2019.

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Through an Alberta Courts spokesperson, Justice Loparco decline to comment for this story. Manitoba Courts spokesperson Aimee Fortier declined to pass on National Post’s request for comment to Chief Justice Joyal, saying that the inquiry “doesn’t fall within the type judges would generally respond to.”

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With retired Supreme Court Justice Sheilah Martin’s seat vacant since May 30, Carney is expected to nominate his preferred candidate before the end of the month after presenting his decision to cabinet, the sources said.

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The government will then convene a parliamentary committee hearing for the nominated candidate, after which the prime minister is expected to officialize the appointment. All of that could also happen by the end of June as well, though the timing is still not settled, the sources said.

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In a statement, prime minister’s office spokesperson Renée Procter neither confirmed nor denied the identity of the top candidates nor the timeline for the appointment, saying that information about the appointment “will be shared in due course.”

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Joyal and Loparco are the two only candidates recommended by the Independent Advisory Board (IAB) established by the Liberals to receive, triage and recommend applicants for the Supreme Court vacancy to the Minister of Justice, two sources confirmed.

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The fact that the IAB ultimately only recommended two candidates will likely give court watchers and government officials some pause, as its government-granted mandate states it “must submit to the Prime Minister… the names of at least three, but up to five, qualified and functionally bilingual candidates.”

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The IAB also submits its recommendations to the minister of justice, who then presents them to the prime minister alongside his recommended path forward.

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Both Loparco and Joyal are fluently trilingual and speak English, French and Italian. They are also both known for advocating for better access to justice for French speakers in their respective provinces.