Filibuster Cartoons
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Prime Minister Paul Martin was elected partially on a platform of political reform. If elected, he promised to change the way our system of government works and address the growing “democratic deficit” in the way executive branch decisions are made.
Since the Supreme Court has two vacancies, many expected him to reform the court’s appointment process. Under the present system the PM just unilaterally appoints whomever he pleases.
But of course in the end Paul was not prepared to give up this great power. In a rather toothless compromise he has allowed for some (but not all) MPs to ask a few questions to the Justice Minister about the two women he plans to appoint to the court. The questions are just for “fact finding” purposes, and the MPs will have no actual power to affect the Prime Minister’s decision in any way. So it’s essentially the exact same system.
