05 Jan 2009 PM installs his Supreme Court pick

Janice Tibbetts, Canwest News Service:  December 23, 2008

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper broke a promise yesterday to hold a public hearing before confirming his selected nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada, citing an “urgency” in bringing the bench up to full strength that does not allow time for parliamentarians to screen Justice Thomas Cromwell.

The widely respected, bilingual judge has been in judicial limbo since September, when Mr. Harper elevated Justice Cromwell to the high court on the eve of the federal election call but postponed the promotion until he was publicly vetted by a committee of MPs. [Keep reading this news story from the NP here.]