Government of Canada announces judicial appointments in the province of Quebec

News release

June 25, 2019 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada

The Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments under the new judicial application process introduced 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.

The Honourable Lucie Fournier, a Judge of the Superior Court of Québec for the District of Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Quebec. Madam Justice Fournier replaces Mr. Justice F. Doyon, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective May 7, 2019.

The Honourable Benoît Moore, a Judge of the Superior Court of Québec for the district of Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Quebec. Mr. Justice Moore fills a new position allocated further to the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1.

Biographies

Justice Fournier was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in Montréal in 2009. After completing her law degree at the Université du Québec à Montréal in 1981, she was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1982.

She practised law in Montréal with Leduc, Lebel from 1982 to 1994 and with Lebel & Associés from 1994 to 2000. She then practised with Robinson, Sheppard, Shapiro until her appointment to the Superior Court of Québec.

She practised civil, banking, and commercial litigation, particularly in securities law, insolvency, and construction.

Justice Fournier also taught at the École de formation professionnelle du Barreau du Québec in the areas of contracts, securities, evidence and advocacy skills. She has been a frequent speaker, particularly on securities law, guarantees, procedure, and evidence.

Beginning in 2000, Justice Moore was a professor with the Faculty of Law of the Université de Montréal, where he taught some 3,000 students. Over the course of his academic career, he was the Interim Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2014 to 2015 and Associate Vice Chancellor, Alumni Relations, Philanthropy and Partnerships, at the Université de Montréal, from 2016 until his appointment to the Superior Court of Québec on March 24, 2017. In 2006, he became the inaugural holder of the Chaire Jean-Louis Baudouin en droit civil.

Justice Moore has collaborated on several books, including Code civil du Québec—Annotations et commentaires, published annually by Éditions Yvon Blais; Droit des obligations, written with Didier Lluelles (3^rdedition published in 2018 by Éditions Thémis); and the 8^th edition of La responsabilité civile with Jean-Louis Baudouin and Patrice Deslauriers (published in 2014 by Éditions Yvon Blais). He has authored a number articles and has given numerous talks, in Canada and abroad, on civil law, including contract and family law. He has been a visiting professor at the universities of Bordeaux, Liège, Lyon III, Montpellier, Paris II, Paris XIII, Tunis, and Keio in Tokyo. Since 2014, he has been the president of the Quebec section of the Association Henri-Capitant. In 2010, he was elected as a member of the International Academy of Comparative Law.

Quick facts

At the Superior Court level, more than 300 judges have been appointed since November 2015. These exceptional jurists represent the diversity that strengthens Canada. Of these judges, more than half are women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of visible minorities, Indigenous, LGBTQ2S and those who self-identify as having a disability.
The Government of Canada is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 will provide funding of $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 provided 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.
In addition, the Government will invest $6 million over two years, beginning in 2018-2019, to support the judicial discipline process through which allegations of judicial misconduct are investigated. In this way, 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.
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:

Rachel Rappaport
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-6568
rachel.rappaport@justice.gc.ca

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

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Date modified:: 2019-06-25