OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has nominated Justice Marc Nadon of the Federal Court of Appeal to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Canada.
The vacancy was created by the mandatory retirement of former justice Morris Fish this past August.
Nadon is, among other things, a recognized expert in maritime law.
His selection by Harper comes after an all-party panel of MPs gave the prime minister a short list of three qualified candidates.
Nadon’s appointment, which will likely be approved, would mean a ratio of six men to three women on the high court.
That’s why some legal observers had been expecting Harper to appoint a woman in order to even out the high court’s gender balance.
Nadon has sat on the Federal Court of Appeal since 2001 after being appointed to the court’s trial division in 1994.
“His nomination is the result of an extensive review process that included consultations with prominent members of the legal community in Quebec,” Harper said in a statement.
Harper has now appointed five Supreme Court justices, following the same pattern he adopted in 2006: consulting a five-member committee of MPs, including three Conservatives and one each from the Liberals and NDP.
Nadon was one of three candidates on a list that was presented to Harper. The candidates were not ranked, and the names of the other two on the shortlist were not disclosed.
