(Quebec) Two recent Attorney General appointments by Attorney General Simon Jolin-Barette are causing controversy. He appointed a longtime friend to be a judge at the Quebec Court of Justice in the capital and selected a Longueuil lawyer for a post in Sept-Îles after canceling an initial call for candidates.
Posted at 10:10am. Updated at 10:10am
Le Soleil reported on Friday that the minister had appointed 36-year-old Charles-Olivier Gosselin, a longtime friend whose marriage he celebrated, to be a judge at the Quebec Court. In 2011 he was admitted to the bar.
Simon Jolin-Barrette confirmed daily that he was indeed close to Mr Gosselin, but said that “Judge Gosselin’s candidacy was examined on merit”. This appointment sparks turmoil in the Quebec legal community.
Another appointment, taking place at the same time, also caused a stir on the North Shore. Minister Jolin-Barrette has appointed Alexandre Germain, a trial attorney for the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est, as a judge at the Quebec Court in Sept-Îles.
Me Germain will carry out his duties in the youth department and the penal and penal department in Sept-Îles.
However, this appointment came after a second call for candidates. A first call for candidates was launched last year, according to a document seen by La Presse. The selection committee submitted its report to the Minister on December 12, 2022.
Simon Jolin-Barrette did not make a nomination following this report, instead launching a second call for candidates for the same position. A selection committee submitted a second report to the minister on April 6. Mr. Jolin-Barette made his election on May 3 and the decision was made public via press release the next day.
As stated in the document, lawyers who had submitted their application during the first call were not eligible to do so again in the second call.
This reversal caused resentment in Sept-Îles. Mayor Steeve Beaupré, a former Crown prosecutor, took to his Facebook page to criticize Simon Jolin-Barrette’s election.
“Mister, here in Sept-Îles, in our judicial district of Mingan, weren’t there candidates who were sufficiently qualified and had knowledge of the environment and our reality to fill this new position? ‘ he wrote on his official site.
Alexandre Germain was admitted to the bar in 2008. He has been practicing his profession in procedural law at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est since 2020. He comes from the Barreau de Longueuil, which was delighted with his appointment on social networks.