Bill C-37
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1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-37 |
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An Act to amend the Judges Act and to make
consequential amendments to other Acts
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| R.S., c. J-1;
R.S., cc. 5, 11,
27, 41, 50 (1st
Supp.), c. 27
(2nd Supp.),
cc. 16, 39 (3rd
Supp.), c. 51
(4th Supp.);
1989, c. 8;
1990, cc. 16,
17; 1992, cc.
1, 51; 1993,
cc. 13, 28, 34;
1994, c. 18;
1996, cc. 2,
10, 22, 30
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JUDGES ACT |
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1. Section 2 of the Judges Act is amended
by adding the following in alphabetical
order:
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| ``surviving
spouse'' « conjoint survivant »
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``surviving spouse'', in relation to a judge,
includes a person of the opposite sex who
has cohabited with the judge in a conjugal
relationship for at least one year
immediately before the judge's death.
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| 1992, c. 51,
s. 4
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2. Subsection 8(2) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Retirement
age
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(2) A judge of the Superior Court of Justice
in and for the Province of Ontario who held the
office of a judge of the District Court of
Ontario on March 1, 1987 and on August 31,
1990 may retire at the age of seventy years.
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| 1990, c. 17,
s. 29(1)
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3. (1) The portion of section 12 of the Act
before paragraph (a) is replaced by the
following:
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| Court of
Appeal for
Ontario and
the Superior
Court of
Justice
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12. The yearly salaries of the judges of the
Court of Appeal for Ontario and of the
Superior Court of Justice in and for the
Province of Ontario are as follows:
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| 1990, c. 17,
s. 29(2)
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(2) Paragraph 12(c) of the Act is amended
by replacing the expression ``Ontario
Court'' with the expression ``Superior
Court of Justice''.
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| 1990, c. 17,
s. 29(2)
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(3) Paragraph 12(d) of the Act is amended
by replacing the expression ``Ontario Court
(General Division)'' with the expression
``Superior Court of Justice''.
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| 1996, c. 30,
s. 1
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4. (1) Paragraph 24(3)(a) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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| 1992, c.51,
s. 7(3)
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(2) The portion of subsection 24(4) of the
Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the
following:
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| Unified
family courts
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(4) For the purposes of assisting the
establishment of unified family courts in the
provinces, a further number of salaries not
greater than thirty-six at any one time may be
paid in the case of judges appointed to courts
described in paragraph (3)(b)
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| 1994, c. 18,
s. 9
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5. Subsection 25(5) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Calculation of
salary for the
twelve months
commencing
April 1, 1997
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(5) For the purposes of determining the
salary annexed to an office of judge under
subsection (1) for the twelve month period
commencing April 1, 1997, the salary
annexed to that office for the twelve month
period immediately preceding that twelve
month period shall be deemed to be the salary
determined under subsection (4) multiplied by
104.1 per cent.
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| Calculation of
salary for the
twelve months
commencing
April 1, 1998
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(6) For the purposes of determining the
salary annexed to an office of judge under
subsection (1) for the twelve month period
commencing April 1, 1998, the salary
annexed to that office for the twelve month
period immediately preceding that twelve
month period shall be deemed to be the salary
determined under subsection (5) multiplied by
104.1 per cent.
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| 1996, c. 2,
s. 1(1)
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6. Section 26 of the Act is replaced by the
following:
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| Commission
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26. (1) The Judicial Compensation and
Benefits Commission is hereby established to
inquire into the adequacy of the salaries and
other amounts payable under this Act and into
the adequacy of judges' benefits generally.
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| Quadrennial
inquiry
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(2) The Commission shall commence an
inquiry on September 1, 1999, and on
September 1 of every fourth year after 1999,
and shall submit a report containing its
recommendations to the Minister of Justice of
Canada within nine months after the date of
commencement.
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| Postpone- ment
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(3) The Commission may, with the consent
of the Minister of Justice and the judiciary,
postpone the date of commencement of a
quadrennial inquiry.
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| Other reports
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(4) In addition to its quadrennial inquiry, the
Minister of Justice may at any time refer to the
Commission for its inquiry a matter
mentioned in subsection (1). The Commission
shall submit to that Minister a report
containing its recommendations within a
period fixed by the Minister after consultation
with the Commission.
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| Extension of
time
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(5) The Governor in Council may, on the
request of the Commission, extend the time
for submission of a report under subsection (2)
or (4).
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| Report of
Commission
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(6) The Minister of Justice shall table a copy
of the report in each House of Parliament on
any of the first ten days on which that House
is sitting after the Minister receives the report.
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| Referral to
Committee
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(6.1) A report that is tabled in each House
of Parliament under subsection (6), shall, on
the day it is tabled or if the House is not sitting
on that day, on the day that House next sits, be
referred by that House to a committee of that
House that is designated or established by that
House for the purpose of considering matters
relating to justice.
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| Report by
Committee
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(6.2) A committee referred to in subsection
(6.1) may conduct inquiries or public hearings
in respect of a report referred to it under that
subsection, and if it does so, the committee
shall, not later than ninety sitting days after the
report is referred to it, report its findings to the
House that designated or established the
committee.
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| Definition of
``sitting day''
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(6.3) For the purpose of subsection (6.2),
``sitting day'' means a day on which the House
of Commons or the Senate, as the case may be,
sits.
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| Response to
report
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(7) The Minister of Justice shall respond to
a report within six months after receiving it.
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| Nomination
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26.1 (1) The Judicial Compensation and
Benefits Commission consists of three
members appointed by the Governor in
Council as follows:
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| Tenure and
removal
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(2) Each member holds office during good
behaviour, and may be removed for cause at
any time by the Governor in Council.
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| Term of office
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(3) The term of office for the initial
members appointed to the Commission ends
on August 31, 2003. The members
subsequently appointed hold office for a term
of four years.
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| Continuance
of duties
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(4) Where the term of a member ends, other
than in the case of removal for cause, the
member may carry out and complete any
duties of the members in respect of a matter
that was referred to the Commission under
subsection 26(4) while he or she was a
member.
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| Reappointmen
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(5) A member is eligible to be reappointed
for one further term if re-nominated in
accordance with subsection (1).
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| Absence or
incapacity
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(6) In the event of the absence or incapacity
of a member, the Governor in Council may
appoint as a substitute temporary member a
person nominated in accordance with
subsection (1) to hold office during the
absence or incapacity.
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| Vacancy
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(7) If the office of a member becomes
vacant during the term of the member, the
Governor in Council shall appoint a person
nominated in accordance with subsection (1)
to hold office as a member for the remainder
of the term.
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| Quorum
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(8) A quorum of the Commission consists of
all three members.
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| Remunera- tion
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(9) The members of the Commission and
persons carrying out duties under subsection
(4) shall be paid
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| Compensa- tion
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(10) The members of the Commission and
persons carrying out duties under subsection
(4) are deemed to be employed in the public
service of Canada for the purposes of the
Government Employees Compensation Act
and any regulations made under section 9 of
the Aeronautics Act.
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| Personnel
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26.2 (1) The Commission may engage the
services of any persons necessary for the
proper conduct of the Commission.
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| Presumption
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(2) No person engaged under subsection (1)
shall, as a result, be considered to be employed
in the public service of Canada.
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| 1990, c. 17,
s. 33
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7. Section 38 of the Act is replaced by the
following:
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| Judges of the
Superior
Court of
Justice of
Ontario
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38. A judge of the Superior Court of Justice
in and for the Province of Ontario who, for the
purpose of performing any function or duty in
that capacity, attends at any judicial centre
within the region for which the judge was
appointed or assigned, other than the judicial
centre at which or in the immediate vicinity of
which the judge resides, is entitled to be paid,
as a travel allowance, moving or
transportation expenses and the reasonable
travel and other expenses incurred by the
judge in so attending.
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8. (1) Paragraph 42(1)(a) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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(2) Subsection 42(1) of the Act is amended
by striking out the word ``or'' at the end of
paragraph (c), by adding the word ``or'' at
the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the
following after paragraph (d):
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| 1996, c. 30,
s. 3
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9. Subsection 44(4) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Waiver
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(4) A surviving spouse is not entitled to
receive an annuity under this section if the
surviving spouse has waived his or her
entitlement to the annuity under a separation
agreement entered into in accordance with
applicable provincial law.
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| Limitation on
annuity to
surviving
spouse
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(5) No annuity shall be granted under this
section to the surviving spouse of a judge
unless the surviving spouse
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10. The Act is amended by adding the
following after section 44:
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| Annuity to be
prorated
between
surviving
spouses
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44.1 (1) Notwithstanding section 44, if
there are two surviving spouses who are
entitled to an annuity under that section, each
surviving spouse shall receive a share of the
annuity prorated in accordance with
subsection (2) for his or her life.
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| Determi- nation of prorated share
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(2) The prorated share of each surviving
spouse is equal to the product obtained by
multiplying the annuity by a fraction of which
the numerator is the number of years that the
surviving spouse cohabited with the judge and
the denominator is the total obtained by
adding the number of years that each of the
surviving spouses cohabited with the judge.
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| Years
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(3) In determining a number of years for the
purpose of subsection (2), a part of a year shall
be rounded to the nearest one tenth of a year.
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| Election for
former judges
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45. (1) Subject to the regulations, a judge
who is in receipt of an annuity under this Act
may elect to reduce his or her annuity so that
an annuity may be paid to a surviving spouse
who
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| Reduction of
annuity
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(2) If a judge makes the election, the
amount of the annuity to which the judge is
entitled shall be reduced in accordance with
the regulations, but the combined actuarial
present value of the reduced annuity and the
annuity to which the surviving spouse could
become entitled under subsection (3) may not
be less than the actuarial present value of the
annuity to which the judge is entitled
immediately before the reduction is made.
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| Payment to
surviving
spouse
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(3) When the judge dies, his or her surviving
spouse is entitled to an annuity in an amount
determined in accordance with the election
and the regulations if that surviving spouse is
the person in respect of whom the election was
made.
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| Regulations
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(4) The Governor in Council may make
regulations
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| 1989, c. 8,
s. 12
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11. Section 46.1 of the Act is replaced by
the following:
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| Lump sum
payment
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46.1 When a judge dies while holding
office, a lump sum equal to one sixth of the
yearly salary of the judge at the time of death
shall be paid to the surviving spouse of the
judge or, if there are two surviving spouses, to
the spouse who was cohabiting with the judge
at the time of death.
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12. The portion of subsection 47(1) of the
French version of the Act before paragraph
(a) is replaced by the following:
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| Définition de
« enfant »
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47. (1) Pour l'application du présent article
et des articles 48 et 49, « enfant » s'entend de
tout enfant - y compris un enfant
adoptif - d'un juge ou de son conjoint, qui :
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13. Paragraph 51(4)(b) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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