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“It’s a good thing to look at those issues when society has evolved, has changed. Expectations have changed also. I thought it was a good time to look at it. It’s a major work to make sure that the judiciary is still relevant.”

Wagner said he did not favour judges engaging on social media and potentially compromising their status as aloof from social and political debate. At the same time, he said, the courts and other judicial entities, as the Supreme Court does, should use social media to disseminate their messages and decisions

“We need to be relevant,” Wagner said of the ethical guidance update. “This is a parallel exercise and, at the end of the day, it will be successful but we need major reforms for judicial conduct.”

While one of the survey questions touches on the situation Smith found himself in, Wagner said he could not discuss specific cases that are before the courts but said discussing reforms was important. He noted that his predecessor Beverley McLachlin had asked for legislative changes to enhance the council’s work.

Judges who are subject to a complaint and citizens need to know what to expect and that complaints will be handled expeditiously, the chief justice said, adding the current process is “very heavy.”

“If the judge has to be removed, he has to be removed quickly and without too much cost to society,” Wagner said. “We need reforms. Parliament should find a way to make sure that these matters don’t drag for too long and aren’t too expensive.”

A spokeswoman said the council welcomed the review and had already begun adding “clarity and transparency” to its work.

“We have presented a number of proposals to the Department of Justice that would lead to a more efficient and less costly process,” Johanna Laporte said.

Wagner said he hoped to be able to announce the results of the review within the next several months.

Neither the justice minister nor Ministry of Justice had any comment.