Judicial Independence Is Crucial to the Rule of Law

Commentary From our economic history textbooks, we learn that the independence and fairness of the British courts made it attractive for investors to place their money into British ventures during the Industrial Revolution. Foreigners investing in British ventures felt sufficiently confident to bring a cause before a British court and receive an impartial and fair hearing. British courts would not favour British subjects simply due to their nationality. In essence, independent courts carried out the application of British law that rested on impartial principle, not on tribal, national preference, or the pleasure of the government of the day. Judicial independence is firmly established in the Canadian Constitution Act of 1867. This independence seemed compromised during the rash of instances of COVID-19 government policy overreach. Courts were timid, deferent, and at times seemed subservient to government policy at the expense of fundamental rights. But in the last few months, the federal government suffered three significant legal setbacks in court. While these cases did not directly address the autonomy of the courts from government, their decisions displayed independent attitudes from Ottawa’s overreaching one....