Atlantic Canada cheers ‘historic’ nomination of Newfoundlander to Supreme Court
HALIFAX — A sense of relief spread through East Coast legal circles Monday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated a Newfoundlander to the Supreme Court of Canada, with some experts suggesting pressure from the region appears to have had an impact.
“It really sensitized the prime minister to the importance that Atlantic Canadians place on their place in the federation,” said Ray Wagner, spokesman for the Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association, after Trudeau named Malcolm Rowe, a provincial Court of Appeal justice, to the country’s top court.
“Atlantic Canadians are very quick to pick up on losses of power. Because of our small population, we don’t have a large power base to fall back on. Losing a seat on the Supreme Court of Canada would resonate with Atlantic Canadians.”
Trudeau angered lawyers, politicians and academics in the region in August when he would not commit to replacing a retiring justice from Nova Scotia with someone from the Atlantic region, arguing that other forms of diversity were just as important.