This is neither Mundane nor Pointless, but neither is it GQ or GD. I thought I would share it with you, in light of the interest on this board in things legal and things Canadian.
The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien, announced yesterday that Canada will have its first female Chief Justice of Canada on January 1, 2000. The incumbent Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Antonio Lamer, announced a few months ago that he will retire on December 31, 1999.
The Prime Minister has decided to promote Justice Beverley McLachlin, currently on the Supreme Court, to the position of Chief Justice.
The Court has 9 members, counting the Chief Justice. Of the 9, 3 are women: Justices L’Heureux-Dubé, McLachlin, and Arbour. With Chief Justice Lamer’s retirement from the Court, there will be a vacancy, from Quebec. The Prime Minister has not made any decision as yet about the replacement.
(You may have heard about Justice Arbour in another context: she is the former Chief Prosecutor of the War Crimes Tribunal, dealing with the former Yugoslavia.)