OTTAWA — Federal Conservatives and New Democrats are accusing the Liberal government of cronyism following a media report claiming that the majority of recent judicial appointments in New Brunswick have had connections to Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc. LeBlanc’s office deferred comment on the matter to the office of Justice Minister David Lametti, who is responsible for recommending candidates to cabinet for judicial appointments to superior and federal courts. “All judicial appointments are made on the basis of merit,” Rachel Rappaport, Lametti’s press secretary, said in an email. This isn’t the first time that judicial appointments in Atlantic Canada have been subject to scrutiny. In 2015, Press Progress, a media project of the Broadbent Institute, pointed out that several judges recently appointed to Nova Scotia courts had connections to then-Conservative justice minister Peter MacKay.

Source: National Post July 02, 2019 23:20 UTC