Glenn Joyal takes seat on Supreme Court as moderate institutionalist

Glenn Joyal, Canada's newest Supreme Court justice, laid out his judicial philosophy as an "institutionalist" who views judges as guardians of the Constitution, during a Monday appearance before parliamentarians ahead of his official confirmation.

Joyal, 66, chief justice of Manitoba's Court of King's Bench, was nominated to the top court by Prime Minister Mark Carney last week. Over two-and-a-half hours Monday, he spoke about his 28-year judiciary career and his approach to the Supreme Court. The son of a Franco-Manitoban father and mother of Polish descent, Joyal started as a lawyer in Manitoba before joining the bench in 1998, rising to chief justice in 2011.

Stressing the importance of judicial independence amid increased polarization, Joyal said: "All of us who care about our constitutional democracy recognize how an independent judiciary best meets the needs of a diverse population in our rich and very pluralistic polity." He highlighted the judiciary's role balancing legislative work. "If both institutions aren't working strongly and boldly—and I think assertively—you potentially get an imbalance," he said.

Joyal said judges have been "taking up a huge footprint in society" since the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms but that demagogy and misinformation had left the judiciary vulnerable. Its response must be to actively regain trust, particularly among marginalized groups and Indigenous people. "It actually involves listening," he said. When asked about his "judicial ideology," Joyal evoked a foundational metaphor of Canadian jurisprudence: "I believe in the living tree." This means law and judges evolve with society and the times. He also said, "I don't believe in defending stupid systems. And to the extent that our systems sometimes need improvement, we can do that."