Government of Canada announces judicial appointments in the province of Quebec

News Release

July 18, 2017 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada  

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments 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. 

Marie-Paule Gagnon, a partner at Stein Monast LLP, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court for the district of Quebec, in and for the Province of Quebec. She replaces Mr. Justice Bernard Godbout, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective June 18, 2017.

Mario Longpré, the Assistant Chief Attorney for Criminal Law Cases in the Office of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court for the district of Montreal, in and for the Province of Quebec. He fills a new position that has been created as a result of the passage of Bill C-44.

Biographies

Madam Justice Marie-Paule Gagnon received her LL.B. from Université Laval in 1991 and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1992. As a lawyer, she focused primarily on banking law, restructuring, and insolvency, in addition to civil, commercial, and disciplinary litigation. For ten years prior to her appointment to the judiciary, she was a partner at Stein Monast LLP, after having worked in a national firm for almost 14 years. She represented a diversified clientele, including financial institutions, professional firms, large, medium-sized, and small businesses, and individuals.

In addition to appearing before different levels of court, she taught courses on security interests, prior claims, and hypothecs at the École du Barreau du Québec for 18 years. For several years, she also taught courses on ethics, professional conduct, and disciplinary law.

Justice Gagnon was a member of the Barreau du Québec’s Disciplinary Committee, president of the ad hoc Committee on the Reform of Civil Procedure, and member and president of the Barreau du Québec’s Superior Court Liaison Committee. She also served on the executive committee of the Canadian Bar Association’s Quebec insolvency section. In addition, she delivered presentations on topics related to her practice for the Barreau du Québec, the Canadian Bar Association, and other organizations offering continuing education programs. She has authored numerous articles, including a chapter in the text Faillite, insolvabilité et restructuration (JurisClasseur Québec – Lexis Nexis) entitled « Infractions en matière d’insolvabilité et moyens de répression ».

Excerpts from Justice Gagnon’s judicial application will be available shortly. 

Mr. Justice Mario Longpré received an LL.B. from the Université de Montréal and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1994. He began his career in criminal law in private practice, until 1998, when he became a prosecutor. Throughout his career, he has appeared before all levels of court, including arguing numerous appeals before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 2005, Justice Longpré was appointed Deputy Chief Prosecutor for the regulatory and economic prosecutions division. In 2009, he became the head of the team of prosecutors responsible for litigating cases before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, in addition to assuming responsibility for all wiretap warrants in the province of Quebec.

In addition to his career as a litigator, since 2015, Justice Longpré has been an instructor at the University of Sherbrooke and has taught criminal law at the École du Barreau du Québec. He is also involved in several committees and activities within the legal community, particularly with students during moot competitions. In addition, Justice Longpré was the chair of the Court of Appeal Liaison Committee of the Bar of Montreal.

Excerpts from Justice Longpré’s judicial application will be available shortly. 

Quick Facts 

  • Budget 2017 includes 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 will 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.
  • 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 ten jurisdictions have been reconstituted. Most recently, Minister Wilson-Raybould announced the composition of three new Judicial Advisory Committees on April 13, 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. 

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Contacts

For more information, media may contact:

Kathleen Davis
Communications and Parliamentary Affairs Advisor
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca

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