What follows is a series of internal government documents disclosing numerous meetings within the program modernization and appointments branch over the next six months. The recurring theme was the committee’s consistent notation that it was “awaiting the AG decision” on the JAAC recommendations for the Cornwall appointment.
But there was not going to be an appointment. An email dated January 16, 2023, from Olga Garces, manager at program modernization and appointments to policy analyst David Soucie, provides insight into the prolonged delay.
Garces indicated, “Further to our discussions today on [a letter to the JAAC asking them to repost for the Cornwall vacancy], please see below excerpts from the [Court of Justice Act].” The email included excerpts from the act, highlighting the Attorney General’s authority to reject JAAC’s recommendations.
Ontario’s JAAC had traditionally been revered as the gold standard for non-partisan, merit-based judicial appointments. Comprising appointees from both the government and arm’s length organizations, JAAC’s mandate is to review applications, conduct inquiries, rank candidates, and present the attorney general with an impartial list of appointees.
But the Ford government wanted to fix what was never broken and took steps to overhaul how Ontario judges were appointed, including the ability to ignore JAAC recommendations.