Should Supreme Court judges be able to do their jobs in French and English?

The Commissioner of Official Languages thinks so.

At a news conference today accompanying the release of his annual report, Commissioner Graham Fraser called the ability to interpret the law and deal with lawyers in both languages "a competence requirement " for appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The issue has arisen because of the June 30 retirement of Justice Michel Bastarache and the search for a successor from the Atlantic provinces. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who will make the appointment, is under pressure to name a bilingual candidate.

Earlier this month, Liberal MP Denis Coderre introduced a private member's bill in the House of Commons to require that Supreme Court judges be capable in both official languages. Last week, a unanimous motion of the Quebec National Assembly made the same demand.

The Harper government announced yesterday how the successor to Justice Bastarache and future Supreme Court judges will be chosen. There is no reference to linguistic ability. "Qualified candidates" will be reviewed by a panel of five MPs named by party leaders. The Prime Minister will choose from among three names put forward by the MPs.

In his remarks today, the Commissioner of Official Languages called on the MPs doing the screening to make bilingual ability a requirement for the job.