Look, I’m just an unfrozen caveman newspaper columnist, but someone or other has to pick the judges, don’t they? The politics of the selection process don’t impinge on the independence of the judges once they’re appointed, which is when that norm becomes relevant and compelling. There’s nothing unconstitutional about a provincial premier making a political demand for consultation on appointments, especially a demand of the kind that is routinely met (and even forgotten) when Quebec makes it. As a practical matter, the deep intertwining of the bench with one federal political party, which you will probably only have heard about if you read the Post, is a matter of much greater concern.