Joe Biden is endorsing term limits for some U.S. judges. Should Canada's court system do the same?
CTV
U.S. President Joe Biden has endorsed term limits for Supreme Court justices. Could this be something we see in Canadian courts?
U.S. President Joe Biden has recently proposed an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices, however congress is divided on the issue.
Recent decisions from the Conservative-majority Supreme Court have sparked outrage from the Democrats.
U.S. federal judges have lifetime appointments, unless they resign, retire or are removed.
There are benefits to the term limits for justices south of the border, says Wayne MacKay, a professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
If justices are appointed at a young age and remain in office until death, they could have a "very big impact" for a very long time, he explained in an interview with CTV's Your Morning on Thursday.
"The real point here is to make court less political," he said. "The appointment of judges in the U.S. is far more political than in Canada and we saw that played out in the recent overturning of Roe vs. Wade."
Since the judges' appointments are less political in Canada, the court may not necessarily need a term limit similar to the one proposed in the U.S.
