In June of this year, we reported that a group of lawyers had made a complaint to the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) against Supreme Court Chief Justice Wagner regarding comments he had made about protestors during the Freedom Trucker’s Convoy.

The comments he made were “seeking to bypass the political system” and “the beginning of anarchy where some people have decided to take other citizens hostage, to take the law into their own hands, not to respect the mechanism…that, I find worrying…”
The complaint voiced concerns about bias should Justice Wagner preside over any legal proceedings related to the convoy in the future, as his comments laid out what could legally and reasonably be interpreted as a bias against those participating in the Convoy. What is particularly concerning is that these views expressed by the Chief Justice were not reflective of the actual situation in Ottawa during the Convoy and more along the lines of how the mainstream media was trying to spin it.

The CJC has dismissed the complaint citing hypothetical situations presented in the complaint and stated it was without substance and not pertaining to judicial conduct of Chief Justice Wagner.

Aren’t Judges and Justices bound, by some degree, when not on the job, to maintain a level of professionalism and set an example similar to that of…. let’s say…. a Police Officer?
The council did advise that should Chief Justice Wagner be involved in any proceedings or appeals at the Supreme Court level relating to the convoy, that would be the time to bring up any concerns, should there be any, around a bias.

Police on Guard will continue to monitor any future proceedings related to the convoy that may involve Chief Justice Wagner.

Click here for the decision by the Canadian Judicial Council