New Ontario (Pre-)Judge

So what does a right-wing government do when 8 provincial courts independently rule that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional? Why, it appoints new judges, of course! And that’s exactly what our prime minister did this week. And, surprisingly, it’s not the appointment of a former president of the Conservative party into the Quebec high court that’s drawing the most criticism—it’s the new Ontario Judge.

Judge Joe David Brown, who will now officially sit in the Ontario Superior Court, is well known for representing the radical right-wing lobby groups Focus on the Family Canada and REAL Women of Canada in a court challenge to declare same-sex marriage unconstitutional. The case was a spectacular failure. (After all, declaring equality unconstitutional is kind of like declaring Stephen Harper a charismatic joy.) But selecting someone who represented such an eyebrow-raising, destined-to-lose case doesn’t exactly reflect an unbiased nature.

When contacted by the press, Judge Brown refused to talk:

In my past incarnation, I would speak to you. In my present incarnation, you would have to speak to Chief Justice Heather Smith.

Hey, does that mean he’s been recently reincarnated? If so, that’s pretty encouraging! But maybe we should still keep our eyes on this one.

• PM’s pick for bench draws fire [Globe and Mail]