CP: Judges angry at Ottawa for mining personal tax information in labour dispute

OTTAWA — The Conservative government is facing criticism for using the personal income-tax information of more than 500 sitting federal judges during salary negotiations.

The lawyer who acted as counsel for the judges says the tactic may have violated their privacy and threatens the independence of the judiciary.

And a leading criminal defence lawyer agrees the move may have undermined the principle of an independent judiciary and shows the Conservative government has a "hostile" attitude to judges primarily appointed by Liberal governments.

Pierre Bienvenu, a high-profile Montreal lawyer who has represented the Canadian Judicial Council and the Canadian Association of Superior Court Judges, said judges were "astounded" to learn about the gathering of their past tax filings.

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