“This all looks like patronage and an attempt by the attorney general to get appointments that he wants,” said William Trudell, chair of the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers and a former member of the judicial appointments committee. The attorney general is required to pick from that shortlist, though he is entitled to send the list back and ask for a new one. According to the consultation paper, the attorney general would only be permitted to select a candidate from the “qualified” list. The process proposed by Downey would resemble some elements of the federal judicial appointments process, in which the federal justice minister sees all applicants classified as “highly recommended,” “recommended” and “unable to recommend” — but critics have argued Ontario’s process is more robust. That committee currently classifies candidates as “not qualified,” “qualified” and “highly qualified” and the attorney general can only select from the “qualified” or “highly qualified” lists.

Source: thestar January 29, 2020 22:30 UTC