The Quebec Judicial Council buries the ax with the Legault government. The body responsible for ensuring the good behavior of judges withdrew on Tuesday a legal appeal relating to the requirement of bilingualism among judges. A crusade that cost the state millions.
The Quebec Judicial Council and the Court of Quebec went to court in 2022 to invalidate provisions relating to the selection of judges. They defended the right to require bilingual judges in certain districts, a question of judicial independence.
Relations were then very tense between the Quebec Judicial Council and the Court of Quebec – led by Chief Justice Lucie Rondeau – and the Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette. The latter deplored that the organization which takes care of the training and discipline of judges spends millions of dollars on litigation against the government.
According to data made public during the study of 2024-2025 appropriations, the Judicial Council spent $4.5 million on litigation, compared to only $1.4 million on judicial development.
However, the tide turned last year following the appointment of new Chief Justice Henri Richard. In December, the Court of Quebec and Minister Jolin-Barrette reached an agreement to put an end to this dispute. Essentially, Quebec can now appoint unilingual French-speaking judges virtually everywhere in the province. A ratio system of bilingual judges is put in place.
However, the Quebec Judicial Council refused to withdraw from the civil action. An astonishing position since the chief judge of the Court of Quebec, Henri Richard, is de facto president of the organization. According to the Council, the agreement did not “fully” resolve the issues of judicial independence and separation of power at the heart of the dispute.
But six months later, the case finally ended with the withdrawal of the Judicial Council.
