Government of Canada announces judicial appointment in the province of Quebec

March 24, 2017 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada 

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment under the new judicial application process announced on October 20, 2016. The new process emphasizes transparency, merit, and diversity, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Benoît Moore, a professor at the Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, district of Montréal. He replaces Madam Justice H. Langlois, who elected supernumerary status effective May 8, 2016.

Biography

Mr. Justice Benoît Moore earned an LL.B. and an LL.M. from the Université de Montréal, in addition to a D.E.A. from the Université Paris I (Panthéon Sorbonne). He articled and practised as an associate at Martineau Walker (now Fasken Martineau), before becoming a professor of private law at the Université de Montréal. Since 2006, he has been the inaugural Jean-Louis Baudouin Chair in civil law. Mr. Justice Moore’s research and teaching deal with the law of obligations and family law; his publications analyze, among other topics, the ways that Quebec family law has responded to social change. As a professor, he has taught more than 3000 law students, striving to help them go beyond technical legal rules and understand the broader social context and implications at stake.

Excerpts from Mr. Justice Moore’s judicial application can be accessed at the following link.

Quick Facts

• Budget 2017 proposes additional funding of $55 million over five years beginning in 2017-2018 and $15.5 million per year thereafter for 28 new federally-appointed judges. Of these new positions, 12 would be allotted to Alberta and one to the Yukon, with the remaining 15 being assigned to a pool for needs in other jurisdictions.
• To ensure a judiciary that is responsive, ethical and sensitive to the evolving needs of Canadian society, the Canadian Judicial Council will receive $2.7 million over five years and $0.5 million ongoing thereafter. This will support programming on judicial education, ethics and conduct, including in relation to gender and cultural sensitivity.
• Today’s appointments are separate from the Budget 2017 announcement.
• Federal judicial appointments are made by the Governor General, acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet and recommendations from the Minister of Justice.
• The Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada play a key role in evaluating judicial applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each province and territory represented.
• Significant reforms to the role and structure of the Judicial Advisory Committees, aimed at enhancing the independence and transparency of the process, were announced on October 20, 2016.
• The Judicial Advisory Committees in seven jurisdictions were reconstituted and announced on January 19, 2017.  
• This process is separate from the Supreme Court of Canada judicial appointment process announced on August 2, 2016. Nominees to the Supreme Court of Canada are selected by the Prime Minister from a thoroughly vetted list of candidates.