Prime Minister Stephen Harper has selected two Ontario Court of Appeal judges to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court of Canada. .His selections – Mr. Justice Michael Moldaver and Madam Justice Andromache Karakatsanis – are the third and fourth judges the Prime Minister has chosen for the nine-judge court. The Globe and Mail has a profile of the new jurices which can be found at:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harpers-picks-highlight-new-direction-for-supreme-court/article2204246/    

Mr. Justice Moldaver, however, has drawn the ire of the Quebec Bar Association which is asking the Harper government to reconsider its appointment of a unilingual judge to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Quebec Bar Association opposes the nomination of Justice Moldaver because he does not speak French. The Quebec Bar Association says Canadian citizens have the right to expect that, when they appear in court, they will be understood regardless of what official language they speak. The Globe and Mail describes Justice Moldaver as a justice “steeped in criminal law. Known to his colleagues as friendly and self-effacing, he is given to straight talk. His questions during appeal hearings are often blunt and drive straight to the heart of what is bothering him.”