At least six current superior court justices may have paid to meet with the prime minister or the deputy prime minister at Liberal Party fundraisers shortly before being appointed.

These findings come in the wake of an earlier analysis by the National Post and the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF), which found that over three times as many Liberal party donors have been appointed to judicial office than Conservative donors since 2016.

The IJF and the Post matched the names and cities of federally appointed judges from the government’s Orders in Council database against fundraiser attendance lists from Elections Canada’s Regulated Fundraising Events Registry (covering 2019 to the present) and historical event records posted on the Liberal party’s website. All federal fundraisers with tickets over $200 and featuring a party leader, cabinet minister, or leadership contestant must be reported to Elections Canada.

Hausegger noted that these findings may run counter to the Trudeau government’s promise of improving diversity on the bench. According to Hausegger, weighing political connections not only disadvantages applicants affiliated with opposition parties, but also hinders those who historically have not had the same access to the political system.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/high-level-judges-may-have-paid-to-meet-trudeau-before-their-appointments/ar-AA1fSpsr?