Article content

Peter MacKay denies he ever said the lack of federally appointed female judges was because potential applicants feared the job would take them away from their children.

The Justice Minister also said that media criticism of him as old-fashioned and patronizing, because of the difference in tone between Mother’s and Father’s Day messages he sent to public servants, is misplaced, because both were written by a female official in the Department of Justice.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Peter MacKay says controversial Mother’s and Father’s Day emails written by female staffer Back to video

And he suggested that the way judges are appointed is being reviewed to ensure greater diversity on the bench. Currently, a shortlist is compiled by one of 17 judicial advisory committees and forwarded to the Justice minister.

“We are indeed examining all means to ensure greater diversity,” he said. “What’s been lost in all the clatter is that the number and percentage of female judges has gone up.”

What’s been lost in all the clatter is that the number and percentage of female judges has gone up

A spokesperson for Mr. MacKay said 34% of sitting judges are women, up from 29% when the Tories took office in 2006.