Policy Options Article on Canadians' Confidence in the Judicial System

Policy Options, a publication of the research organization Institute for Research on Public Policy, has published an article on the possible reasons why Canadians' confidence in the country's judicial system might be growing a little shakier, though the overall situation is still quite good:

"Not surprisingly, Canadian citizens have expressed greater confidence than Americans in their respective supreme courts. The Canadian judiciary lacks the overt American partisanship in its appointment process, sparing it much of the acrimony that plagues the careers of U.S. justices."

"Furthermore, despite some general assessments of the ideological bent of Canadian judges, there is little evidence that the Canadian bench is politically or ideologically polarized in the same way that the U.S. Supreme Court is."

"Still, many features of Canada’s judicial system are far from satisfactory. The legal process has long been assessed (by the chief justice, no less) as being costly, inefficient and lengthy (...)"

"Could the combination of costs, inaccessibility and the influence of the headlines about courts south of the border culminate in a decline in support for Canadian courts?"

The article looks at differences in attitudes according to factors such as education, contact with the court system, gender, voting behaviour and general political value outlook.

On a quite positive note, the article does conclude:

"It’s not all bad news for Canada’s courts. When faced with the decision about whom they trust more on rights-based matters, Canadians appear to hold the courts in higher regard than the government."  

"Data from the Canadian Election study shows relative durability in support for the courts having the final say on matters concerning the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Consistently over time, 60 per cent or more declared a preference for the courts."