Government of Canada announces judicial appointment in the province of Alberta

News release

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


April 12, 2018 – 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.

Gaylene Bobb, a partner at Chapman Riebeek LLP in Red Deer, is appointed a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Edmonton. She replaces Madam Justice R. Khullar, who was appointed to the Court of Appeal of Alberta effective March 12, 2018.

Biography

Madam Justice Gaylene Bobb graduated from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law in 1998 and was admitted to the Alberta bar in 1999. She lived in Edmonton until she moved to Red Deer to article with the firm Chapman Riebeek, where she remained throughout her legal career, joining the partnership in 2009.

Justice Bobb was born in Edmonton to parents who had emigrated from Trinidad and Tobago, and who later became foster parents. As long as she can remember, Justice Bobb wanted to be a family law lawyer and she credits this, in part, to growing up in a home where there were generally six to eight children. She believes this required her to hone her negotiation and advocacy skills.

Throughout her career, Justice Bobb has maintained a varied general practice, with a focus on family law. In 2003, she joined the Association of Collaborative Lawyers of Central Alberta, where she was secretary from 2008 to 2011. Skilled in collaboration techniques, she was usually able to help her clients resolve their legal issues without resorting to contested court processes.

Throughout her career, Justice Bobb has remained mindful of access to justice concerns for disenfranchised persons. She served on the board of the Loaves and Fishes Benevolent Society, and was a volunteer lawyer from 2003 to 2008. In addition to being a Legal Aid roster lawyer, she was also a member of the Red Deer Regional Legal Aid Committee from 2006 to 2012, where she considered appeals of denials of coverage. In 2010, she received a Legal Aid Certificate of Recognition for her outstanding contributions. Justice Bobb also spent many years as a volunteer lawyer with the Central Alberta Community Legal Clinic. Most recently, she served on the boards of the Central Alberta Women’s Outreach Society and the Suicide Prevention Society of Red Deer.

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

Quick Facts

  • In 2017, the Minister of Justice made 100 appointments and elevations – the most a Minister of Justice has made in one year in at least two decades.
  • Of these appointees, half are women, four are Indigenous, and 16 have self-identified as a member of a visible minority population, LGBTQ2, or a person with a disability. 
  • The Government of Canada is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 proposes $77.2 million over four years to support the expansion of unified family courts, beginning in 2019-2020. This investment in the family justice system will create 39 new judicial positions in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
  • In addition, Budget 2018 proposes funding for a further seven judicial positions in Saskatchewan and Ontario, at a cost of $17.1 million over five years.
  • The funding outlined in Budget 2018 comes on top of resources allocated under Budget 2017, which created 28 new judicial positions across the country.
  • Additionally, the Government will ensure that a robust process remains in place to allow Canadians to voice their concerns and submit complaints about judicial conduct to the Canadian Judicial Council and the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs. This investment of $6 million over two years, beginning in 2018-2019, will support the judicial discipline process through which allegations of judicial misconduct are investigated.
  • 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. Sixteen Judicial Advisory Committees have been reconstituted to date. 

Contacts

For more information, media may contact:

David Taylor
Director of Communications
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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