Ford defends political appointments to judge selection committee at Brampton photo op
Published February 23, 2024 at 1:34 pm
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is defending his government’s appointments of two former staffers to a committee that helps select provincial judges, saying he’s not going to put Liberals or New Democrats in those roles.
According to reports, Matthew Bondy, a former deputy chief of staff to Ford, is the chair of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee while Brock Vandrick, Ford’s former director of stakeholder relations, is on the committee.
The appointments are made by Attorney General Doug Downey, and Ford said today while making an unrelated announcement in Brampton that his Progressive Conservative government got elected “to get like-minded people in appointments.”
“Listen, I’m going to appoint some NDP or some Liberal,” Ford said at a press conference in Brampton on Friday. “I’ve made it very clear where I stand with judges.”
Ford suggested that judges and justices of the peace are too lenient on criminals, and are letting people out on bail too frequently, so he wants to see more judicial officials appointed who will keep people in jail.
“That’s part of democracy – you voted a party in. And I’d say that no matter what party’s in,” he said of the appointments.
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“I’m appointing like-minded people that believe in what we believe in – keeping the bad guys in jail. And I’m proud of the job that we’re doing, and I’m going to continue doing it,” he said.
The committee reviews applications and conducts interviews for prospective Ontario Court judges, then sends a ranked list of its recommendations to the attorney general, who appoints someone from that list.
The committee is made up of three judges, three lawyers and seven members of the public.
– With files from Insauga.com
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