Next Supreme Court chief justice should be a Quebecer: Montreal bar

The Montreal bar is calling on tradition to be respected and for the next chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada to be a Quebecer.

Bar president Brian Mitchell says the law society sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late last month in which it outlined its position.

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The letter from the bar states that according to tradition, the position of chief justice is assigned alternately between judges who come from a civil law background in Quebec and common law background elsewhere in the country.

The bar wrote that it’s also important to alternate between French and English chief justices.