The interview of Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry conducted by Haroon Siddiqui is absolutely hilarious, not least for the fact that Siddiqui, being Siddiqui, manages to let the most salient points of the interview fly right his head. Check out just the opening [emphasis added]:
In an interview in his chambers at Osgoode Hall, McMurtry, 75, talked about a range of issues.
He did so with more than his usual candour – a reflection, no doubt, of his impending freedom from the constraints of judicial neutrality on public policy.
Which raises a number of questions, not least among them: why then didn't McMurtry observe the conventions of the office which he holds and, I don't know, wait a week or two before talking "about a range of issues"? Of perhaps equal relevance, if McMurtry is going to insert himself into political issues even more fervently once he's retired from the bench, how would we possibly be able to tell the difference? Various of our chief justices seem incapable of understanding the most basic tenet which governed the public conduct of members of the judiciary for centuries: if you're going to whine every time someone criticizes a judicial decision don't, ferthaluvagod, flounce into the public sphere and open your big mouth and prove your critics right at every juncture.
Then there's this brilliant non sequitur:
What of the argument that such decisions go against the traditional and established views of a society?
"I don't think the traditional view or the majoritarian view is the correct view. The Charter is really a document to protect minority rights."
The interview is most helpful, though: now we know that the Chief Justice of Ontario thinks the function of judicial decision-making is to "send messages", and it just so happens that the messages to be sent correspond precisely to his own political preferences. Whattacoinkidink! Can't wait to read part two of the fluffing interview...
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