Senator Gold: Thank you for your questions. The government deliberately selected these two individuals, both for their legal expertise and for their familiarity with the issues and realities that are facing marginalized people in our justice system.

As we know, Justice LaForme was the first Indigenous appellate court judge in Canada, and Justice Westmoreland-Traoré was the first Black judge in Quebec and the first Black dean of a Canadian law school.

During their consultations, they met with and received written briefs from hundreds of people, including victims of miscarriages of justice, victims of crime, criminal justice professionals and representatives of commissions that do similar work in other countries. Their final report makes numerous recommendations about the commission’s mandate and design, and the government is relying upon its report as it works to establish the criminal cases review commission as soon as possible.