Prime Minster Stephen Harper鈥檚 behaviour toward Supreme Court Justice Beverley McLachlin 鈥渋s beneath the office he holds,鈥� Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
Trudeau made the comments following question period, when he asked the prime minister whether he would 鈥渨ithdraw his unfair and personal accusations against the chief justice.鈥�
Harper has come under fire in recent days after suggesting that McLachlin made an 鈥渋nappropriate鈥� attempt to contact him about his most recent appointment to the top court, Marc Nadon.
Trudeau accused Harper of a pattern of disrespect towards the country鈥檚 democratic institutions, and echoed a call from NDP Leader Tom Mulcair earlier in question period that asked Harper apologize to McLachlin.
鈥淲ill the prime minister of Canada withdraw his unfair and personal accusations against the chief justice of the Supreme Court of our land?鈥� Trudeau said.
Harper did not directly answer either leaders鈥� questions.
Instead, in responding to Trudeau, Harper said it is 鈥渂ecause of our respect for the independence of the judiciary that the prime minister does not discuss an issue that might wind up before the courts.
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why, instead of doing that, we consulted independent experts and acted according to their advice.鈥�
Harper named Nadon to the top court last September. But in March, the Supreme Court ruled Nadon ineligible to sit on the court, saying that as a Federal Court judge he did not meet the criteria for an appointee from Quebec.
Harper and Justice Minister Peter MacKay have both since maintained that they consulted constitutional and legal experts before appointing Nadon, and they all confirmed his eligibility.
Last week, Harper accused McLachlin of trying to make an 鈥渋nadvisable and inappropriate鈥� phone call to tell him that Nadon may be ineligible to sit on the Supreme Court.
鈥淚 think if people thought that the prime minister, other ministers of the government, were consulting judges before them or -- even worse -- consulting judges on cases that might come before them, before the judges themselves had the opportunity to hear the appropriate evidence, I think the entire opposition, entire media and entire legal community would be outraged," Harper said Friday.
McLachlin later issued a statement to say she tried to warn MacKay about Nadon prior to his appointment and before his appointment faced a court challenge from lawyer Rocco Galati. She told MacKay that a problem with Nadon鈥檚 eligibility may arise, but said she did not express an opinion on the issue.
She added that she was among those consulted by the parliamentary committee that was reviewing potential candidates, as is common.
On Monday, MacKay took the war of words even further, accusing the top court of going against the Supreme Court Act in ruling Nadon ineligible. The Act stipulates that Quebec appointees to the top court must come from either Quebec鈥檚 Court of Appeal or Superior Court, or have been a member of the Quebec bar for at least 10 years.
MacKay told the House Monday that there was nothing in the act that "prohibited the appointment of a Supreme Court judge who had come through the Federal Court."
The federal government has not named a replacement appointee.
On Tuesday, Mulcair asked Harper whether he would abandon Nadon as a candidate.
Harper replied that he has 鈥渂een already clear鈥� on the matter, 鈥渁nd we will act according to the letter and the spirit of the Supreme Court decision.鈥�
