Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: My question is for Senator Gold. In March, the media reported that the Quebec Court of Appeal had overturned the conviction of someone who had been tried in a secret trial. The Court of Appeal denounced this practice, which, in its words, was contrary to the fundamental principles of justice and “incompatible with the values of a liberal democracy.”

This secret trial was also a serious breach of one of the pillars of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, namely the right to information. We also learned from the same media outlet that Minister Lametti was in close communication with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada about this case, after stating a few months earlier that he was steering clear of this case in order to defend the transparency and independence of justice.

Senator Gold, is the Minister of Justice’s intrusion into a court proceeding as reprehensible as the Prime Minister’s interference in the SNC-Lavalin case?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. The open court principle is a cornerstone of our justice system. The government is quite concerned about media reports on the court proceeding in Quebec and is keeping a close eye on developments. As you know, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada is an independent entity. As this case is still before the courts and was in fact the subject of an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, it would be inappropriate for the government to comment further.