Ottawa making progress on judicial appointments but threats to rule of law remain, says chief justice

Despite some recent progress on appointing more federal judges, Canada's justice system is facing still challenges that threaten to undermine the rule of law, Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner warned Monday.

Last May, Wagner wrote toPrime Minister Justin Trudeau warning that a chronic shortage of judges was putting «democratic institutions» at risk.

During his annual press conference in Ottawa on Monday, Wagner said the pace of judicial appointments «remains a key priority» but significant progress has been made.

«Since last year, I saw an improvement and I'm confident that the government will follow [up] to try to appoint judges in a timely fashion,» he said Monday.

There are 939 federally appointed judges in office, another 256 supernumeraries — retired justices who sit on the bench part time — and 57 vacancies, down from 90 last year.

Wagner said those remaining vacancies, coupled with underfunded provincial court systems and personal attacks on the integrity of judges, threaten both democracy and the rule of law.

«The justice system is not a service. It's a need, it's a human need,» he said. «People need justice, and when they recognize that they will not have access to justice, that will jeopardize our democracy and the rule of law and we should not underestimate this possibility.»

Wagner said that the federal government needs to ensure it appoints federal judges «within a reasonable delay» after a retirement. He would not say how long a reasonable delay should be.

The federal government appoints judges to the superior courts and courts of appeal in each province, the Federal Court, the Tax Court and the Supreme Court.

Justice Minister Arif Virani sent a letter to Wagner last week saying that he has appointed 113