OTTAWA,
ON, July 24, 2024 /CNW/ - The
Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney
General of Canada, today announced
the following appointments under the judicial application process
established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit,
and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to
ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of
excellence and integrity.
The Honourable Ivan Robichaud, a Judge of the Court of
King's Bench of New Brunswick,
Trial Division, in Bathurst, is
appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick. Justice
Robichaud replaces Justice R.T.
French, who elected to become a supernumerary judge
effective April 10, 2024.
The Honourable Marco R. Cloutier, Chief Judge of the
Provincial Court of New Brunswick
in Saint John, is appointed a
Judge of the Court of King's Bench of New
Brunswick, Trial Division, in Edmundston. Justice
Cloutier replaces Justice Z.
Dionne (Edmundston), who
elected to become a supernumerary judge effective January 8, 2023.
The Honourable Cameron H. Gunn, a Judge of the Provincial
Court of New Brunswick in
Fredericton, is appointed a Judge
of the Court of King's Bench of New
Brunswick, Trial Division, in Woodstock. Justice
Gunn replaces Justice T.J.
Morrison (Fredericton), who
elected to become a supernumerary Judge effective December 11, 2023. Due to internal court
transfers by the Chief Justice, the vacancy is located in
Woodstock.
Quote
"I wish Justices Robichaud, Cloutier, and Gunn every success as
they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the
people of New Brunswick well as
members of the Court of Appeal of New
Brunswick and the Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick".
—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister
of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Biographies
Justice Ivan
Robichaud was appointed to the Court of King's
Bench of New Brunswick in 2018. He
received a Bachelor of Fisheries Management from the Shippagan campus of Université de Moncton, followed by a Bachelor of Laws from
the Moncton campus of the same
university in 1986. He was called to the Law Society of
New Brunswick in 1987.
Prior to his appointment to the Court of King's Bench of
New Brunswick, Justice Robichaud was a partner with
Robichaud Guignard Gauvin in
Shippagan where he practised
throughout his legal career in various areas of law. He appeared
before the Provincial Court of New
Brunswick, the Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick, and the Court of Appeal of
New Brunswick, in addition to
acting as an adjudicator for the New Brunswick Small Claims Court.
He was appointed King's Counsel in 2005.
Justice Marco R.
Cloutier was born and raised in Edmundston. He received a Bachelor of
Secondary Education with a major in French from the Université de
Moncton in 1994. In 1997, the same
university awarded him a Bachelor of Laws degree. He was called to
the New Brunswick Bar in 1998.
Justice Cloutier was appointed
Judge of the Provincial Court of New
Brunswick in Saint John on
January 30, 2013, and became
Associate Chief Justice on March 11,
2021. On September 21, 2021,
he was appointed Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of
New Brunswick. Prior to his
appointment to the Provincial Court of New Brunswick in 2013, he was a lawyer with
Kenny & Murray (1998 to 1999) and Allen
Dixon Bell (1999 to 2000), before joining McInnes Cooper in May
2020, where he became a partner. His main areas of practice
were civil and criminal litigation.
Justice Cloutier has a fervent
passion for writing, and as soon as he was appointed Juge of the
Provincial Court, he published several decisions in both official
languages.
Justice Cloutier lives in
Saint John with his wife, and they
draw daily inspiration from their three wonderful children.
Justice Cameron H.
Gunn was born in Miramichi, New Brunswick. He obtained his
Bachelor of Education in 1989 and his LL.B. in 1993, both from the
University of New Brunswick. He was
called to both the Nova Scotia and
the New Brunswick bar in 1994.
Justice Gunn was appointed to the
Provincial Court of New Brunswick
in 2019. Prior to his appointment to the Provincial Court, he had
been the Executive Director of Public Prosecution Services for the
New Brunswick Office of the Attorney General. As a prosecutor he
appeared at all levels of court and practiced extensively before
the Court of Appeal of New
Brunswick. He was appointed King's counsel in 2013.
Justice Gunn has been active in
education and mentorship, having been a faculty member of the
Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program since
2008, a frequent presenter for the National Judicial Institute and
the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges, and a speaker
at various continuing professional development programs. He was a
lecturer in criminal law at the University of
New Brunswick, Faculty of Law, having created and taught a
course on the prosecution and defence of homicide.
Justice Gunn is the author of
BEN & ME: From Temperance to Humility – Stumbling Through
Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues, One Unvirtuous Day at a Time,
released by Penguin Books in 2010 and the co-author, along with
Patrick McGuinty and Mona Duckett, K.C. of Witness Preparation,
Presentation, and Assessment released by Emond Publishing in
2022.
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada has
appointed more than 760 judges since November 2015. This includes 137 appointments
since the Honourable Arif Virani became Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of Canada on
July 26, 2023, a pace of
appointments that has no precedent in Canadian History. These
exceptional jurists represent the diversity that strengthens
Canada. Of these judges, more than
half are women, and appointments reflect an increased
representation of racialized persons, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+, and
those who self-identify as having a disability.
- To support the needs of the courts and improve access to
justice for all Canadians, the Government of Canada is committed to increasing the capacity
of superior courts. Budget 2022 provides for 22 new judicial
positions, along with two associate judges at the Tax Court of
Canada. Along with the 13
positions created under Budget 2021, this makes a total of 37 newly
created superior court positions. Since Budget 2017, the government
has funded 116 new judicial positions.
- Changes to the Questionnaire for Federal Judicial Appointments
were announced in September 2022. The
questionnaire continues to provide for a robust and thorough
assessment of candidates but has been streamlined and updated to
incorporate, among other things, more respectful and inclusive
language for individuals to self-identify diversity
characteristics.
- 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 Government of Canada is
committed to promoting a justice system in which sexual assault
matters are decided fairly, without the influence of myths and
stereotypes, and in which survivors are treated with dignity and
compassion. Changes to the Judges Act and
Criminal Code that came into force on May 6, 2021, mean that in order to be eligible
for appointment to a provincial superior court, candidates must
agree to participate in continuing education on matters related to
sexual assault law and social context, which includes systemic
racism and systemic discrimination. The new legislation enhances
the transparency of decisions by amending the Criminal
Code to require that judges provide written reasons, or
enter them into the record, when deciding sexual assault
matters.
SOURCE Department of Justice
Canada