June 26, 2015 – Ottawa, ON – Department of Justice.
The Honourable Peter MacKay, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Central Nova, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:
The Honourable Paul Bychok, a former senior legal counsel with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in Iqaluit, is appointed a judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice to replace Mr. Justice A.M. Mahar, who was appointed to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories on May 28, 2015.
Mr. Justice Bychok received a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1977, a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 1984, and a Master of Arts from Queen's University in 1984. He was admitted to the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society in 1985 and to the Nunavut Bar in 2004.
Mr. Justice Bychok had been a senior legal counsel for the Nunavut Regional Office of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada from 2003 until his retirement in April 2015. He practised in Halifax as Senior Crown Attorney with the Public Prosecution Service from 1989 to 2003 and was in private practice from 1985 to 1989.
Appointments to the country's Superior Courts not only reflect the rich and diverse social fabric of our country, but also take into consideration the merit and legal excellence of each individual jurist. Through these appointments, the Government of Canada has demonstrated an awareness of the need to bring greater gender balance to the bench, to help ensure that the judiciary is more representative of Canadian society.
This appointment is effective immediately.
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