‘We have to be vigilant. It could happen here,’ says chief justice

Three Supreme Court of Canada judges will hold a public session in Yellowknife on Sunday, hoping to better understand “the reality” of northern life and answer questions about the court’s workings.

Chief Justice Richard Wagner, Justice Nicholas Kasirer and Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin will host a free, town hall-style event at the NWT legislature from 10am on Sunday.

More details about the event are available on the Supreme Court’s website.

The judges will also spend time with members of the territory’s legal community, reporters, Elders at the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation’s camp, and Yellowknife high school students.

Ahead of the trip, Wagner spoke with Cabin Radio about his goals for the visit and the state of justice in the North, more broadly in Canada, and across the continent.

In the United States, the justice system has found itself at the centre of a profound shift toward authoritarian government over the past nine months.

The Trump administration has tested the limits of lower courts’ powers to enforce their verdicts, targeted specific judges and law firms, and issued dozens of emergency applications to the US Supreme Court, which is populated by a conservative majority.

That majority has so far restrained the administration in some instances but sided with the White House on 18 occasions, sometimes with no accompanying written explanation, in circumstances that have alarmed legal scholars.

Meanwhile, Trump’s losses in lower courts have piled up as the US judicial system faces – and attempts to interpret – repeated challenges to longstanding precedents.

Canada is already feeling the political and economic effects of the American transformation of the past year.

While avoiding political comment, Wagner told Cabin Radio there was still a “positive message for Canadians” to be had when assessing headlines from the US.

“We have very strong institutions in Canada. We have a very strong democracy. Of course, we have our challenges, but we still have respect for our institutions and that’s very important, and we have to protect that,” the chief justice said.

“The Canadian people should be optimistic while defending our institutions and supporting the rule of law, because the rule of law is part of democracy.”

Even so, asked if some US experts might have said the same not long ago, Wagner urged Canadians to “be vigilant.”

“It could happen here. It could happen if we’re not vigilant. We have to be very careful, and we should not take anything for granted,” he said.

“That’s the thing, and that may be what happened in [an] other country very close to us.”

Canada’s North, far from the machinations of the US Supreme Court, has its own challenges regarding the administration of justice.

Access to justice in small, isolated northern communities is not the same as access elsewhere in the country. Indigenous people are vastly overrepresented within the justice system and tools considered simple and easy to access elsewhere, like the internet, still aren’t always as readily available or reliable.

Wagner said part of the justices’ NWT visit was designed to better understand the concerns northerners have.

“It’s a different reality, and we’ll get probably more information during our visit,” he said.

“We have to find new ways to facilitate access to justice. It’s not only inputting more money – that will not solve the problem. It’s to find new remedies, new ways to have access to justice.”

Below, read a transcript of Cabin Radio’s interview with Chief Justice Richard Wagner.

To submit questions for the justices or reserve a seat for Sunday’s public forum, email the Supreme Court of Canada.

This interview was recorded on September 9, 2025. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Ollie Williams: What’s motivating this trip to Yellowknife?

Chief Justice Richard Wagner: This is the third in a series of five visits in five regions of Canada to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Me and my two colleagues will travel to Yellowknife for a few days and meet the public, high school students and the local judiciary. The purpose is to get information on the reality that people are living over there, and at the same time to provide them with some information about the court, how we work and our decisions and so forth. So it’s a two-way exchange.

Northern justice, logistically, looks quite different to southern justice. I’m thinking in particular of the circuit court, the distances involved, the ethnicities involved, the intergenerational trauma involved. How do you perceive the difference between the justice that exists in southern Canada and the justice that exists in northern Canada. Is there a difference? Should there be a difference? What do you think about that?

Well, there should not be any difference, but access to justice is difficult and challenging everywhere in Canada – and in particular in the Northwest Territories, it’s a different reality, and we’ll get probably more information during our visit.

We have a special committee on modernizing court operations, which was set up during the pandemic, and I chair that committee with the justice minister. On that committee will sit attorney generals, chief justices, civil servants and so forth. The purpose of that committee is to try to find ways to improve access to justice.

Now the pandemic is behind us, our mandate is to concentrate our efforts on access to justice in places where it’s much more difficult. The Northwest Territories is one of those regions. The reality is different. The means are different. Technology is not always present. So there are different needs in those places and we want to concentrate our efforts to improve access to justice.

How do you effect change in Canada’s justice system? I recognize having the federal government change legislation is one thing, but as the chief justice, what does your voice look like in that system?

There’s no magic solution.

There are several possibilities to improve access to justice. Access to information, for instance. Better use of technology. Probably one of the only best things coming out of the pandemic is to what extent technology can be very useful and helpful for people living remotely.

We have to find new ways to facilitate access to justice. It’s not only inputting more money – that will not solve the problem. It’s to find new remedies, new ways to have access to justice. It could be also using more mediation, more alternative ways to settle litigation, and not only think of going to court in all matters.

If you were picking one thing you wish would be done differently, or you wish could be improved or fixed within the justice system in Canada, what would your top concern be?

That’s a difficult question, because there are so many.

I would be very happy if every citizen in this country would have access to a lawyer. So very often, the legal aid is not enough. I would hope that governments would provide enough legal aid so every citizen can go to court with the help of a lawyer. But that’s one thing. Increased technology for courthouses and judges would facilitate access to justice. Make sure every person has access to the internet, wherever they are. That also would improve access to information first and then, once you know your rights, access to justice.

I recognize the Northwest Territories is not the only part of Canada, not the only part of the world that has concerns about justice. Looking south of the border, there’s a lot going on when it comes to judicial matters. What do you think Canadians should be learning about the administration of justice from watching what is happening around us in the news right now?

That’s a very relevant and very good question. Of course, I will not deal with the political issues. I will let our politicians deal with that. But as the Chief Justice of Canada, I’d like to give a positive message to Canadians.

I think we have very strong institutions in Canada. We have a very strong democracy. Of course, we have our challenges, but we still have respect for our institutions and that’s very important, and we have to protect that. So I think the Canadian people should be optimistic while defending our institutions and supporting the rule of law, because the rule of law is part of democracy.

I think we’re in a good position in Canada. We have judicial independence. Our judges all across the country, whether it be provincial or federal, are appointed … they are independent, they are impartial, and that’s a good source to make sure decisions are made by impartial persons.

Those are not unique but very special to Canada, and we have to protect it so that every person going to court must have the not only the impression, but the conviction, that they will be heard by independent and impartial judges.

I want to stay on this just a little longer. I’m sure I could have found lots of people in the United States who would have told me: “It can’t happen here. America has the strongest institutions in the world. Everything is just fine, can’t be touched.” You sound confident that is the case in Canada and Canadian institutions do have the strength to ride out whatever systems, whatever forces it might have to ride out. Where do you get that confidence from?

Well, I have to bring a nuance to your words. I think we have to be vigilant. It could happen here. It could happen if we’re not vigilant. We have to be very careful, and we should not take anything for granted. That’s the thing, and that may be what happened in [an] other country very close to us.

Whenever we see an attempt to attack our institutions, attack judicial independence, attack the courts. I think we should fight that. It belongs to lawyers. It belongs to government. It belongs to elected officials. It belongs to the media to denounce those situations. So I think it will not happen to Canada, hopefully, but it could. So let’s be careful.

I want to leave by talking a little more about the Northwest Territories. You mentioned you want to listen to people from the North when you come here, but you also have messages for northerners. What do you want to tell people?

It’s very difficult for people to appreciate something that you don’t know. That’s why I think part of our mission is to make sure Canadian citizens, wherever they are, understand the courts, understand how we work, understand our decisions. That’s part of the education in which I believe a lot, and that’s why we are meeting also the high school students to inform them.

There is so much misinformation in the world now with social media, and anything goes. It’s important, whenever we can, to provide the right information. And once the people will know about the courts, about the judges, about how we work, why we’re doing it, I think they will appreciate it, and then their trust will be improved in the justice system.

Tell me a little more about misinformation in the justice system. As a journalist, I obviously have experiences of my own with misinformation, disinformation on social media. What is misinformation doing to the administration of justice in Canada?

There are many, many consequences to misinformation. First of all, it could lead to a misunderstanding of what a decision means – to tell people it means something whereas in reality it means something else, because the people who are doing this misinformation are sometimes on a mission themselves. They want people to believe something and they will misinform them. They will change the nature of every decision. So that’s one important wrong consequence of misinformation.

And also giving wrong information on the working of the court, on the judges themselves. I don’t mind – and I accept, and I think it’s good – that the decisions of any courts, of any judges, be discussed, and you don’t expect everybody to agree with every decision. That’s part of democracy. But you should not attack the judge who released a decision because you’re not in agreement with the decision.

That’s why I think it’s important to give the proper information. People are intelligent. They will make up their own mind if you provide them with the right information.

How do you do that in a way that cuts through the misinformation?

There’s no perfect system you can do, but you have to try.

We should not be in the public domain too often. We should not discuss policies, politics. We have a very, very narrow jurisdiction. But the chief justices across Canada have a responsibility within this short and narrow jurisdiction to find ways to better communicate with the public.

And we try to facilitate the task of the media. We know that the traditional media – just like you – it’s not easy, because the traditional media is shrinking. There’s a lot of competition. The financial resources are not always there. We try at the court to facilitate your task. We have briefing sessions when a decision is released to allow the media to understand the decision, so the media will properly explain to their listeners or readers what this decision means.

We do that, we communicate, we visit different regions of the country. We sat in Winnipeg, the nine of us, a few years ago. We sat in Quebec City, and we’re going to Nova Scotia, to Halifax in 2027. We participate in those efforts to communicate with the Canadian public so there will not be – or there will be less – misinformation.