National Post · May 30, 2011 | Last Updated: May 30, 2011 3:04 ET
Re: The Law Is Too Important To Leave To Politicians, Jacob Ziegel, May 26.

The headline of the column by Jacob Ziegel is misguided. Politicians are elected by the people to create laws, that is the fundamental role of Parliament. However, the Constitution Act, 1982, gave judges the power to interpret and even strike down legislation. In essence, the Constitution gives the court the power to make public policy, thereby turning judges into unelected politicians.

Therefore, those who value democracy should insist that our elected officials exercise some degree of influence in the selection of judges. Article 8 of the Conservative party policy states: "The Conservative Party believes that nominees to the Supreme Court of Canada should be ratified by a free vote in Parliament, after receiving the approval of the justice committee of the House of Commons."
I certainly hope that the new government will follow through on this.

David A. Kahn, Nepean, Ont.

David Kahn is a past chairman of the Canadian Justice Review Board