Good Tibbetts Article, But Cdn Bar Assn DOES Support C-232, Effectively

In Tibbett's good, fair piece Merits of making Supreme Court bilingual could be lost in translation, there is one point that needs correcting. Contrary to what she writes, the Canadian Bar Association, representing the country’s lawyers, has already taken a position long ago, back in 2008 when the last appointment came up: Canadian Bar Association Says Bilingualism to be Considered Part of Merit Criteria. Now, some may claim that the CBA seems to only say that bilingualism should be one aspect of merit among many in selecting candidates for appointment to the Supreme Court. However, if you use your noggin for a second, you'll realise, that this effectively stipulates that bilingualism should be a sine qua non for selection. Remember what Comartin noted, that in the last rounds of selection from the Maritimes and the Prairies, "there were more than enough candidates from both of those jurisdictions to meet that high test of bilingualism". Now think: there is never one Platonic Ideal Candidate, far and away better than the rest. There are always a number of excellent candidates, with little to pick between them. If Rothstein had not been selected, and the alternate choice had been bilingual, no-one would have doubted his or her suitability, given their qualifications. So when the CBA says bilingualism should be one of the merit criteria, it is effectively endorsing bilingualism as a pre-requisite, since in the final round there will always be bilingual judges, and with so little to choose between the candidates, that criteria will tip the balance for some over others. C-232 is honest, it makes explicit what the CBA & others would rather keep or make implicit. But it's important to be explicit, and get the word out: y'all want to succeed in national public life in Canada? Then you have to be bilingual. Crucial to that, is, as Fraser says, Canadian youth need more second-language opportunities at university, and that means establishing the standards and allocating the resources to make that happen, with the ripple effects for pre-university education, and post-university continuing education, in the widest sense.

PS. 11 is my lucky number