At best, the new bill does little to change the status quo.

Even more concerning is the lingering suspicion that what Lametti really meant was that more judicial training is required to ensure that there are more convictions in sexual assault cases.

You see, under the new legislation all newly appointed provincial superior court judges would be required to “undertake to participate in continuing education on matters related to sexual assault law and social context.”

The mandatory continuing education would be developed by the Canadian Judicial Council after consultation with “sexual assault survivors and groups and organizations that support them.”

To be fair to Lametti, this bill does address some of the obvious constitutional problems that plagued Ambrose’s private member’s bill. The government cannot interfere with the administrative independence of the judiciary by dictating particular training. Lametti’s bill walks the razor’s edge of constitutionality by requiring new federal judicial appointments to promise to take training instead of ordering sitting judges to do so.