Re Therrien
Re Therrien, [2001] 2 S.C.R. 3, 2001 SCC 35, is a leading decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on judicial independence. Background In the 1970s, Richard Therrien was convicted of assisting four members of the Front de libération du Québec during the October Crisis. Once he was released he studied law and was eventually given a pardon. Years later he applied for a position on the Quebec bench as a judge. As part of his application he disclosed his criminal record and his pardon. He was rejected based on this history. Later he applied again, this time he did not reveal his criminal history and was accepted. Once the committee discovered the existence of a criminal history they got the Minister of Justice to issue a complaint to the Quebec Conseil de la magistrature. The Conseil found the complaint to be justified and recommended that he be removed from the bench. Therrien applied to have the decision of the Conseil to be judicially reviewed and challenged the constitutionality of the removal process under the Courts of Justice Act. The Minister of Justice applied to have Therrien's applications dismissed. The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed Therrien's application for review. Opinion