TORONTO – Visible minorities are grossly underrepresented in Canada’s judiciary, especially among federal court judges, apparently a result of a “less transparent” appointment process, says a new study.
People of colour made up only 2.3 per cent of the 221 federal judges sampled in the study by Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute, which focuses on research and strategies on diversity in the workplace.
By comparison, the demographic group represented 10.9 per cent of a sample of 138 provincial judges in Ontario, where 15 per cent of practising lawyers are visible minorities.
“The lack of diversity in the Canadian judiciary presents a democratic deficit,” the institute’s founder, Wendy Cukier, told a panel discussion in Toronto Wednesday.
“Judges are extremely powerful. Judicial impartiality and independence is a cornerstone of democracy. So is representation. The public trust and perceived legitimacy of the court depends on it.”
While visible minorities are left behind, the research found progress in female representation in the judicial system.
Today, one third of federal judges and 32 per cent of their provincial counterparts are women, who account for 51 per cent of the population and about 40 per cent of practising lawyers.
The study, entitled Improving Representation in the Judiciary: A Diversity Strategy, examined the female and visible minority representation of 753 judges in all three levels of Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court, appeal courts and tax courts.
While the Ontario appointment process of judges is not perfect, the study said it is “more open and transparent” in announcing and advertising vacancies and reaching out to underrepresented communities.
The problem with the federal appointment system is its concentration of decision-making power in the hands of politicians, the study noted.
Researchers also found that the Tax Court of Canada had the lowest female representation, at 23 per cent, while the Supreme Court boasted 44 per cent of women judges — the highest in all courts.
The report recommends the recognition of the problem by decision-makers, “transparent outreach” efforts to all communities in the recruitment process and the inclusion of people of diverse backgrounds in judges’ appointment committees.
Last year, the Diversity Institute released a report on leaders in Greater Toronto’s legal sector and found similar underrepresentation at the largest law firms and among deputy and Crown attorneys: only 26.7 per cent were women and 6.8 per cent were visible minorities.
