Justice Robin Camp goes on trial Tuesday after asking an alleged rape victim why she did not keep her knees closed against her attacker. This is one of several comments he made which are cited in allegations that he is unfit to be on the bench. Justice Camp’s other comments included: “Some sex and pain sometimes go together … that’s not necessarily a bad thing;” and “she knew she was drunk … is not an onus on her to be more careful.”
A panel of three judges and two lawyers will decide whether Camp’s continued presence on the bench would undermine public confidence in the country’s judges that he must be removed.
The five-member panel could call for Justice Camp’s dismissal. The recommendation would then go to a council that includes chief and associate chief justices across Canada. If the council affirms the recommendation, the federal Justice Minister would present it to Parliament, where the House of Commons and Senate would then be asked to vote on it. In two cases of the 11 hearings in which the council had urged dismissal, the judges resigned first.
The duration of the hearing at the Westin Hotel in Calgary is expected to be five days, and open to the public, but will not be streamed live on the Internet. Cameras will also be barred; as they are in most Canadian courtrooms.
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