St-Louis fills the opening left by Jocelyne Gagné
The Federal Court has named Martine St-Louis as its new associate chief justice.
St-Louis is a judge in the Federal Court and the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada. She fills the vacancy left by Jocelyne Gagné, who became a puisne judge on August 31.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described St-Louis as “a respected member of the legal community and has extensive experience in many areas of the law.”
“I am confident she will continue to be a great asset to the Federal Court in her new role,” Trudeau said in a statement.
St-Louis first joined the Federal Court bench in Ottawa in 2014. A year later, she was appointed to the Court Martial Appeal Court.
Before becoming a judge, she logged stints in private practice with Ogilvy Renault LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright), Heenan Blaikie LLP, and McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Her practice focused on immigration, administration, labour, and constitutional law.
In December 2016, she was elected chair of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal, a role she held for five years. She has also been an active member of the Canadian Bar Association, the International Bar Association, and the Association québécoise des avocats et avocates en droit de l’immigration.
St-Louis obtained her Bachelor of Laws from the Université de Montréal in 1987 and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec a year later. She started her legal career with Québecor Inc.
Last month, Trudeau also announced Susan Cooper as the new chief justice for the Nunavut Court of Justice following the retirement of Neil A. Sharkey in April. In October, Mary J. L. Gleason became the chief justice of the Court Martial Appeal Court.
Another key appointment was the retention of Caroline Maynard as information commissioner. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada refugee appeal division commissioner Love Saint-Fleur also joined the Federal Court bench recently.
