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We have observed the takedown of a Canadian judge in the name of improving our judicial system. However, this public humiliation will have the opposite effect.

Federal judge Robin Camp resigned recently after a majority of senior federal judges across the country recommended his removal. These senior judges concluded the judge, whose impugned “knees together” comment is now well known, “acted in a manner that seriously undermined public confidence in the judiciary.”

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There was no evidence of actual undermining of anything. The spectacle did show the effectiveness of gender advocacy. The witness, individual accusers, commentators, attorney general of Alberta (who instigated the review), federal justice minister and majority of members of the Inquiry Committee are women.

The steady one-sided drip of public commentary by activists throughout the investigation sealed the outcome. The simplistic, but perilous, “#I Believe You” campaign ran alongside. It calls all sexual assault complainants “survivors.” When told “believing is sweeping across Alberta” and “believing is a powerful defence against sexual assault,” it was easy to forget this is about an errant judge.