On Thursday, the Supreme Court of the United States, lead by Chief Justice John Roberts, supported President Barack Obama and his interpretation of his Affordable Care Act, thereby ensuring that public health care would continue to expand in that country. The irony is that when it came time to appoint Roberts to that position, in 2005, as recommended by then Republican President George W. Bush, then Senator Obama had voted against his nomination.
In Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, led by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, has repeatedly ruled against Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government’s attempt to legislate against the Canadian constitution. She had been nominated to that particular post, in 2000, by then Liberal PM Jean Chrétien, after having been originally named to that court by then Conservative PM Brian Mulroney in 1989.
The fact that such chief justices are appointed for long periods of time, for their lifetime in the United States, and until the age of 75 in Canada, basically ensures that they will act in the interest of the legal issue being considered, rather than the political party that originally nominated them to that august body.
If Quebec were ever to become an independent country, such an independent Supreme Court would be essential to protect all its citizens.
Robert Marcogliese, Montreal
