Federal government announces handful of judicial appointments across the country

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Jody Wilson-Raybould, has announced several new judges in Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador — all under the new judicial application process the government announced last fall.

The new process emphasizes transparency, merit and diversity in the appointment of jurists.

From Langlois Avocats, partner Karen Rogers was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, district of Montreal. The position she fills is a new one created by Bill C-31. Before her appointment to the judiciary, Rogers led the litigation group at the firm.

She brings more than 28 years of experience in litigation to her new role. She is a member of the Barreau du Québec’s discipline and arbitration committees and has taught at l’École du Barreau for nearly a decade. Rogers mentors young women in her role as a member of the Association of Quebec Women in Finance and is also an active member of a fundraising team supporting the Jewish General Hospital and its research into women’s cancers.

Christine Baudouin, lawyer at Casavant Mercier Avocats, is also appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, district of Montreal. She replaces Justice M. De Wever, who elected supernumerary status effective Nov. 7, 2016. Since her call to the bar in 1993, Baudouin has practised litigation with several firms, including Heenan Blaikie LLP from 1997-2009 and Casavant Mercier Avocats from 2010 until her appointment to the judiciary.

Baudouin has contributed her expertise in bioethics by serving on the Ethics Committee of the Montreal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre and the Research Ethics Committee of McGill University and is also involved with charities addressing various causes such as women’s health and autism.

Associate professor at the Faculty of Law at McGill University, Frédéric Bachand, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, district of Montreal. His appointment fills a vacancy left by Justice S. DeVito, who elected supernumerary status on Dec. 6, 2016.

Bachand joined the Faculty of Law at McGill in 2003, and has served as an accredited arbitrator in both domestic and international cases. He has volunteered with a number of organizations, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, where he served on the board. Bachand was named Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) by the Barreau du Québec recognizing his contributions to the law and to legal education and received the John W. Durnford Teaching Excellence Award at McGill University.

Daniel Royer, a Crown prosecutor with the office of the director of criminal and penal prosecutions, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, district of Montreal. He replaces Justice P.G. Capriolo, who elected supernumerary status effective Dec. 14, 2016.

Royer has exclusively practised criminal and penal law since his call to the bar in 1996. He practised for 15 years as defence counsel with the firm of Labelle Boudrault Côté and Associates. From 2011 until his recent appointment to the judiciary, he was a Crown prosecutor in the Longueuil and Montreal offices of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions. Royer has argued more than 100 criminal appeals before the Quebec Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada over the course of his career. He has taught criminal law and evidence at O’Sullivan College in Montreal, as well as a course linked to the Gale Cup moot at the Université de Montréal.

Johnna Kubik, sole practitioner with Kubik & Co. in Alberta, was appointed a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Calgary. Her appointment fills the vacancy left on Nov. 15, 2016 when Justice B.E. Mahoney elected to become a supernumerary judge.

Kubik represented a wide range of clients during her career as a civil litigator, including representing them in personal injury cases, insurance defence and estate litigation. She has represented claimants in the Indian Residential School Independent Assessment Process, patients in mental health proceedings and the Lethbridge Police in a public fatality inquiry. She is also active in the community, promoting access to justice throughout her 12 years of service on the Regional Appeals Committee (Southern Region) or Legal Aid Alberta. Kubik is a veteran volunteer, offering her services pro bono at Lethbridge Legal Guidance.

Senior counsel with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, W. Paul Riley was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver. He replaces Justice C.J. Ross after she elected to become a supernumerary judge on April 1, 2016.
In 2007, Riley became head of the British Columbia Regional Office's appeals group where he conducted hundreds of appeals in the British Columbia Court of Appeal and appeared over a dozen times as lead counsel at the Supreme Court of Canada.

The cases involved issues of criminal and constitutional law. He has served on numerous committees, including the PPSC's National Litigation Committee and the British Columbia Court of Appeal's Criminal Appeals Advisory Committee.

Partner with Cox & Palmer, Sandra Chaytor, was appointed a judge of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Grand Bank, replacing Justice G.A. Handrigan who elected to become a supernumerary judge on April 8.

Chaytor, called to the bar in 1989, has more than 25 years' experience at Cox & Palmer, serving as deputy managing partner of the St. John's office. She was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2007 and in 2010 was named a Master and Taxing Officer at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. Chaytor was selected to serve as co-counsel to two high-profile public inquiries in the province: the Commission of Inquiry on Hormone Receptor Testing, which investigated errors in breast cancer testing, and most recently the Inquiry Respecting the Death of Donald Dunphy.

Frances Knickle, acting director of public prosecutions with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Justice and Public Safety, was appointed a judge of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Happy Valley Goose Bay. Her appointment fills the vacancy left by Justice C.R. Thompson who elected to become a supernumerary judge in Dec. 4, 2016. The vacancy is located in Happy Valley Goose Bay because of an internal transfer by the chief justice.

After articling with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Justice, Knickle worked with the Public Prosecution Division since being called to bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1992.

Through her long tenure as a front-line trial Crown, Knickle developed a specialty in appellate advocacy, and appeared several times before the Supreme Court of Canada.