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Ambrose’s bill, as it stands, adds a similar eligibility requirement for prospective superior court judges, requires annual reporting to Parliament and requires judges to provide recorded or written reasons for decisions in sexual assault cases. Pratte said his three amendments will address several practical concerns about its original wording.

The first amendment, similar to a change in the P.E.I. bill, would commit judges to complete mandatory education once they are appointed, rather than requiring them to have already completed it prior to applying for judgeship. This avoids issues around the confidentiality of judicial applications and the large number of applicants who don’t actually get appointed, Pratte said. Anyone who didn’t follow the training would be open to sanction.

The second amendment, Pratte explained, broadens requirements around who actually develops the education courses. At present the bill stipulates the courses be developed in consultation with victims’ groups. The amendment would expand consultation to anyone deemed appropriate, including victims’ groups, a broader definition that Pratte said would make it harder for defence lawyers to complain of bias.

The third amendment would remove a requirement that the judicial council name judges who had heard cases of sexual assault but had not followed the proper training, which some senators worry could lead to judges being shamed on social media in such a way that it could become “an infringement on judicial independence,” Pratte explained.

Pratte said although he’s noticed since being appointed that surprises in the Senate are always possible, he expects the bill will pass. “I expect that once that is done, once the bill is adopted in committee with amendments, I expect that the Senate will deal with it expeditiously,” he said.

If the Senate passes C-337 with amendments in committee and at third reading, the Commons will then have to agree to the amended version before it can become law. The House is scheduled to rise June 21.

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