Harper Names Two Supreme Court Appointees

The prime minister goes to Ontario to fill two vacancies on the nation's top bench.

The names of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's next two Supreme Court appointments have been released, with Madam Justice Andromarche Karakatsanis and Mr. Justice Michael Moldaver, both judges from the Ontario Court of Appeal, in line for promotions. Once the two are appointed, they will bring the number of Harper appointees to four. The bench is currently sitting with just seven justices, since Justices Ian Binnie and Louise Charron both tendered their resignation in May. Moldaver is described as being a critic of the proliferation of cases brought forth since the introduction of the Charter of Rights, and has been known to generally oppose striking down laws. Karakatsanis spent much of her career as a bureaucrat, and hasn't really presided over many significant cases during her tenure as a judge. She was, however, deputy attorney general of Ontario under PC premier Mike Harris in the 1990s, making her one of Ontario's top civil servants when current federal ministers Jim Flaherty and Tony Clement were in Queen's Park.