Judicial Advisory Committee Appointments
Backgrounder
| Nominating Body | Name | City | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice | Madam Justice Catherine La Rosa | Québec | The Honourable Catherine La Rosa was appointed to the Québec Superior Court in 2006. The daughter of Italian immigrants to Canada, prior to her appointment to the bench, she was a partner at Garneau Verdon Michaud Samson. She has expertise in family law and publishes prolifically on the subject. Justice La Rosa teaches courses to newly appointed Superior Court judges in the areas of family law and human rights. She also sits on the Civil Procedure Committee for the Superior Court of Québec. Most notably, from 2008-2010, Justice La Rosa sat on the Committee on the Application of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. |
| Canadian Bar Association | Pierre Giroux | Québec | Pierre Giroux is a partner with Tremblay Bois Mignault Lemay, where he practices public and administrative law. Me Giroux holds both an LL.B. and an LL.M. from Université Laval and was admitted to the Québec Bar in 1977. Over the course of his career, he has developed deep expertise in public law and has served as external counsel to numerous institutions. He has also presented and published extensively on issues of constitutional and administrative law. In 2009, Me Giroux was one of two experts named by the provincial government to the Groupe-conseil sur l’octroi des contrats municipaux. In 2008, the Barreau du Québec honoured him with the title of advocatus emeritus and with an award for his contributions to the development of the law. |
| Law Society | Marie Cossette | Québec | A partner at Lavery Avocats in Québec, Marie Cossette practices litigation, public and administrative law, and disciplinary law. She is head of the firm’s business integrity group. She has particular expertise relating to public inquiries, and has acted as counsel in the context of commissions of inquiry including the Charbonneau Commission, the Johnson Commission, and the Gomery Commission. Me Cossette has presented and published on numerous issues, including the role of commission counsel, questions of integrity, and media crisis management. In 2014, Me Cossette received the title of advocatus emeritus from the Barreau du Québec, and is recognized as a litigation leader by LEXPERT. In addition to her professional work, she serves on several boards, including the Fondation du Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Québec. |
| Attorney General | Miville Tremblay | Saint-Honoré-de-Chicoutimi | Miville Tremblay is a lawyer and mediator in Saint-Honoré-de-Chicoutimi. Since 2004, he has focused exclusively on mediation and conflict resolution, participating in over 1500 mediations in the areas of family, civil, and employment law. Me Tremblay has presented and taught courses in both Canada and France on issues related to family law and alternative dispute resolution. He also participates in the work of several Barreau du Québec committees, including the LGBT Committee and the Access to Justice Committee. From 2011-2012, he served as President of the Association des avocats et avocates de province. Me Tremblay is currently second vice-president of the Chambre de Commerce du Saguenay and a member of the Société de développement de Saint-Honoré. |
| Public Representative | France Bilodeau | Québec | France Bilodeau is an actuary and senior partner with Aon Hewitt, where she has worked for over 30 years, primarily focusing on pension plans. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial Science from Université Laval, is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Ms. Bilodeau has also received a certificate in corporate governance from Université Laval. She serves on the Boards of Directors of the Aéroport de Québec, Gestion Universitas, and the Universitas Foundation. From 2008-2011, she served on the Board of Via Rail Canada. Since 2002, she has been a governor of Éducaide, an organization that provides financial support to youth from low-income backgrounds in pursuing their studies. |
| Public Representative | Stuart (Kip) Cobbett | Canton Stanstead | Stuart (Kip) Cobbett is a lawyer and the former Chief Operating Officer of Stikeman Elliott, where he practiced for over twenty years. He previously served as president of the film, video, and free television operations at Astral Communications. Called to the Barreau du Québec in 1974, Mr. Cobbett was awarded the designation advocatus emeritus in 2011 in recognition of his accomplishments. Now retired, he lives in Canton Stanstead and serves on numerous charitable boards focused on education and the arts, including La Fondation des Grands Ballets Canadiens, Academics without Borders, and the John Dobson Foundation. Since 2010, he has served as Chair of the Board of Governors of McGill University. |
| Public Representative | Lise Verreault | Rimouski | Lise Verreault established her career in the administration of health and social services, first in the region of Bas-Saint-Laurent and later at the provincial level. Originally from Matane, she was the CEO of the Agence de la santé et des services sociaux du Bas-Saint-Laurent for five years, where she led the integration of health and social services into one network. Ms. Verreault then held several posts within the Québec Ministry of Health and Social Services, including the role of Deputy Minister. She later became Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Science. Mme Verreault has served on numerous boards including those of Infoway Canada, Desjardins Group, the Centre des services partagés du Québec, the Corporation d’hébergement du Québec, and Sogique. She currently serves on the board of Université Laval and is president of l’Appui national, an organization dedicated to supporting seniors’ caregivers. |
| Nominating Body | Name | City | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice | Mr. Justice Patrick J. Duncan | Halifax | The Honourable Patrick J. Duncan was appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in November 2007. Since becoming a judge, he has taught criminal law to newly-appointed judges and presented on issues including privacy, evidence, disclosure, and criminal jury trials. He serves on numerous committees aimed at improving the courts and the administration of justice in Nova Scotia. Before his appointment to the bench, Justice Duncan was a partner in the firm of Beveridge, MacPherson & Duncan, with a wide-ranging practice that included administrative law, criminal defence, civil litigation, and public inquiries. Prior to entering private practice, Justice Duncan spent seven years with Nova Scotia Legal Aid. He contributed to the work of the Barristers’ Society and other legal organizations and presented extensively in areas related to criminal justice, policing, and professional discipline. |
| Canadian Bar Association | Jack Townsend | Halifax | Jack Townsend is an associate with Cox & Palmer in Halifax. He maintains a broad litigation practice, with a particular focus in the areas of health law, commercial and insurance litigation, and municipal law. He has appeared before all levels of court in Nova Scotia, including acting as pro bono counsel before the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal for an LGBTQ Law Student Society. He co-chairs his firm’s diversity committee and is involved with the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Bar Association, including serving as Vice-Chair of the Municipal Law Section, Chair of the Equity Committee, and Chair of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Forum. Mr. Townsend earned his LL.B. from the University of New Brunswick, receiving the Lieutenant-Governor’s Silver Medal for the highest standing in his graduating class. |
| Barristers’ Society | Kathryn M. Dumke, Q.C. | Bridgewater | Kathryn M. Dumke, Q.C., is a sole practitioner in Bridgewater focusing on litigation, business law, and real estate law. Called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1994, she has served as President of the Lunenburg County Barristers’ Association and as Member of Council of the provincial Barristers’ Society. As the first transgender lawyer practicing in Nova Scotia, Ms. Dumke is deeply committed to promoting equity and diversity in the legal profession. She recently led a successful initiative to have the Barristers’ Society introduce a new requirement, whereby all firms in Nova Scotia must adopt equity policies. Before entering legal practice, Ms. Dumke was trained as a farm business manager in her native Germany. She has particular expertise in community-supported agriculture and biodynamic farming. |
| Attorney General | Alonzo Wright | Halifax | Alonzo Wright is a Senior Crown Counsel with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service. He has practiced criminal law since 1996, serving as a prosecutor in communities across the province. Early in his career, Mr. Wright, who is African Nova Scotian, was a research assistant for a project on the genealogy of the Africville community. As a former UPEI varsity basketball player, Mr. Wright has been a volunteer coach at the Gottingen Street Community Y since 2002. More recently, he became certified as a referee and has begun coaching at two Halifax-area high schools. He is passionate about coaching and mentoring youth from diverse backgrounds, particularly young people from low-income families in the North End of Halifax. Mr. Wright has received numerous awards in recognition of his volunteerism, including the A. Gordon Archibald Award from the Metro Halifax YMCA. |
| Public Representative | Dr. Garland (Gary) Brooks | Halifax | Dr. Garland (Gary) Brooks is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology. He began his academic career at Mount Allison University and earned a Ph.D. from Queen’s University Belfast. In 1971, he joined the Department of Psychology at St. Francis Xavier, where he taught for over thirty years, including serving as Dean of Arts. During his time as a professor and academic administrator, Dr. Brooks emphasized the importance of teaching and mentorship. Since retirement, he has volunteered extensively with groups devoted to the arts, education, health care, and LGBTQ2 equality. He currently serves as both President and Archivist of the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts Association and sits on the Complaints Committee of the Board of the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia. As a gay man, Dr. Brooks is committed to diversity and deeply aware of the role the justice system plays in enunciating and protecting fundamental rights. |
| Public Representative | Naiomi W. Metallic | Halifax | Naiomi W. Metallic is an associate professor at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, where she holds the Chancellor’s Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy. After earning her LL.B. from Dalhousie and her LL.L. from the University of Ottawa, she went on to clerk for the Honourable Michel Bastarache at the Supreme Court of Canada. Ms. Metallic articled and practiced at Burchells LLP in Halifax and earned an LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School, before joining the faculty at Dalhousie. A member of the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation in Gespe’gewa’gi, Quebec, Ms. Metallic has published and presented on such topics as Aboriginal title, Indian Act by-laws, and the linguistic rights of Indigenous peoples. She has volunteered with a range of organizations, including serving on the Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission and sitting on the Executive of the Canadian Bar Association National Aboriginal Law Section. She is also a founding director of the Listuguj Aboqonmadultinech Community Foundation. |
| Public Representative | Philip J. Star, Q.C. | Yarmouth | Philip J. Star, Q.C., a criminal defence lawyer with Pink Star Barro in Yarmouth, is deeply involved in issues affecting the justice system in Nova Scotia. He formerly served on the executive of the Nova Scotia Criminal Lawyers’ Association and is Chair of the Tri-County Restorative Justice Society, which works with youth, victims, and communities affected by crime. From 2006-2007, Mr. Star was President of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. In addition to his work within the legal profession, he sits on the board of the Yarmouth Association for Community Residential Options, a non-profit agency that provides residential support for children and adults with disabilities, as well as numerous other volunteer organizations. He is also the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Provincial Judicial Appointments. |
| Nominating Body | Name | City | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Judge | Mr. Justice Ronald S. Veale | Whitehorse | The Honourable Ronald S. Veale is the Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of Yukon. He was appointed to the bench in January 2000 and is a member ex officio of the Courts of Appeal of Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. He currently serves on the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC) Education Committee, and has previously served on a range of other CJC committees. Justice Veale obtained his B.A. and LL.B. from the University of Toronto. He was called to the Bars of Ontario, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. |
| Canadian Bar Association | Geneviève Chabot | Whitehorse | Geneviève Chabot is legal counsel with the Federal Department of Justice in Whitehorse, where she practices in the area of civil and Aboriginal law litigation, and has represented the Government of Canada in the Independent Assessment Process for former students of Indian residential schools. A native of Québec City, she holds a J.D./LL.L. from the University of Ottawa and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School. From 2009-2010, she clerked for Justice Louis LeBel at the Supreme Court of Canada, after which she practiced commercial litigation in a leading law firm in Montréal. She also taught at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law before moving to the Yukon in 2013. Fluently bilingual, Ms. Chabot is the Deputy Chair of the Yukon Human Rights Commission. She volunteers extensively with justice organizations in the territory, including serving as President of the Canadian Bar Association, Yukon Branch, and as a member of the Boards of the Yukon Legal Services Society and the Yukon Public Legal Education Association. |
| Law Society | David Christie | Whitehorse | David Christie is the Executive Director of the Yukon Legal Services Society. He first joined the Legal Services Society in 2002 and, since then, has represented low-income clients in a broad range of areas – including criminal defence, child protection and family law, poverty law, and mental health law. Mr. Christie has also taught Canadian law and criminal justice at Yukon College every year since 2005. He volunteers with a number of organizations, including serving on the executive of the Law Society of Yukon and sitting on the Yukon Judicial Council. In addition, he has served long terms as a volunteer director of two non-profit agencies that provide services to adults and youth with mental and physical disabilities: Howe Sound Rehabilitation Services in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and the Challenge Disability Resource Group in Whitehorse. |
| Attorney General | Norah Mooney | Marsh Lake | Norah Mooney is a staff lawyer with the Yukon Legal Services Society, where she represents low-income clients in criminal and family matters. She was previously an associate in private practice, and during this time, developed a particular focus on family law. Ms. Mooney earned her LL.B. from Queen’s University in 2006 and was admitted to the Bars of Yukon and British Columbia in 2007. Prior to attending law school, she first gained exposure to the legal system while working as a court clerk for ten years in Dawson City and in Whitehorse. Ms. Mooney sits on the Board of the Options for Independence, a non-profit organization that has been recognized as a pioneer in providing supportive housing for adults with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). She previously served two years as President of the Canadian Bar Association’s Yukon Branch and six years on the Board of the Yukon Law Foundation. |
| Public Representative | George Filipovic | West Dawson | George Filipovic is the Justice Coordinator for the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation in Dawson City. There, he helps develop and implement innovative programs, including a restorative justice program that incorporates traditional Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in justice practices. He also oversees an Aboriginal Courtworker program that provides services to both accused persons and victims. Before moving to Yukon, Mr. Filipovic spent nearly a decade practicing criminal defence law in Toronto. He has volunteered with a range of community and cultural initiatives and is the founding editor of One Throne Magazine, a literary journal. |
| Public Representative | Jessica Lott Thompson | Whitehorse | Jessica Lott Thompson is the Executive Director of the Yukon Human Rights Commission, which works to promote equality and diversity through research, education, and enforcement of the Yukon Human Rights Act. She previously lived in Iqaluit, where she was a prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and an adjudicator with the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal. In addition to a law degree, Ms. Lott Thompson has earned an M.A. in Human Security and Peacebuilding from Royal Roads University, an LL.M. in Constitutional Law from Osgoode Hall, and a Graduate Diploma in Justice System Administration from York University. Early in her legal career, Ms. Lott Thompson clerked at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and was a legal researcher for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. Ms. Lott Thompson is an experienced volunteer birth doula and the mother of four young children. She lives with her family in a rural area near Whitehorse. |
| Public Representative | Ann Maje Raider | Watson Lake | Ann Maje Raider is a Kaska grandmother and a social justice advocate. From 1992-1998, she served as the first democratically elected Chief of the Liard First Nation. Ann then engaged with a group of Kaska women committed to addressing the legacy of colonialism. They created the Liard Aboriginal Women’s Society (LAWS) in 1998. Ann went on to lead the Fledgling Society, implementing a healing strategy aimed at responding to the physical and sexual abuse of residential schools. Through the ensuing years, her work inspired numerous innovative initiatives related to cultural wellness and social justice. Ann’s ability to engage the community in a consistent and continuing path of development, along with her ability to blend traditional and Western-based therapeutic models of practice, is evident in the success of the Society’s programs and services. In recent years, the Society and the RCMP have come together to implement a ground-breaking community safety protocol. Most recently, the Society unveiled two new initiatives – a Youth for Safety Project and Women’s Advocacy Service. In addition to her pioneering work within her community, Ms. Raider has served on the Yukon Advisory Council on Women’s Issues (2006-2016) and the Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Circle (2000-2004). |
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