Judges Should Interpret Law—Not Make Public Policy From the Bench

Judges should interpret law—not make public policy from the bench

By Bronwyn Eyre To understand how politicized Canada’s courts have become, one must understand how judges once viewed their role—not as policymakers, but interpreters of laws and the Constitution. In 1982, the late Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Bora Laskin said judges have “no freedom of speech to address political issues that have nothing to do with judicial duties… Absolute abstention from political activity is one of the guarantees of…

Bronwyn Eyre: Judges Should Interpret Law—Not Make Public Policy From the Bench

The Supreme Court of Canada is seen on Friday, June 16, 2023 in Ottawa.  THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Editor’s note: Next week Pipeline Online will be running an in-depth series of stories on the current action before the courts seeking an injunction that would stop Saskatchewan’s recently announced plan to rejuvenate its coal fleet dead in its tracks. As former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Bronwyn Eyre was instrumental in laying t…