An Act to establish Judicial Independence Day

Bill S-219 establishes a Judicial Independence Day to mark the principle that judges must be free from political pressure when deciding cases. The principle traces to the Act of Settlement, 1701 (which the Constitution Act, 1867 incorporated into Canada) and to the Supreme Court of Canada's binding ruling in Reference re Remuneration of Judges of the Provincial Court (P.E.I.) (1997) which held that the constitution requires independent compensation commissions to insulate judicial pay from political interference. Symbolic Senate bill with no programs attached, intended as civic-education prompt.