Seven lawyers appointed to bench

The federal government appointed seven lawyers to the bench and promoted several current judges to higher courts on Friday.

In British Columbia, provincial court Justice Kenneth Ball moves to the B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver to fill the vacancy left by Justice B.M. Davies. Davies became a supernumerary judge on Sept. 4.

In Manitoba, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Diana Cameron replaces Justice M. Freedman on the Court of Appeal. Freedman retired on Sept. 12.

In Ontario, Ontario Court Justice Irving André moves to the Superior Court in Brampton, Ont., on Nov. 11. He replaces Justice S.C. Hill, who becomes a supernumerary judge that same day.

In Simcoe, Ont., lawyer Robert Nightingale of Cline Backus Nightingale McArthur LLP joins the Superior Court bench in that town. He replaces Justice C.S. Glithero, who moved to supernumerary status in May.

Also in Ontario, Victoria Chiappetta, a lawyer with Essar Steel Algoma Inc. in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., moves to Toronto to fill the vacancy left by Justice J.M. Wilson. Wilson became a supernumerary judge in July.

In Quebec, Superior Court Justice Jacques Levesque moves to the Court of Appeal. He replaces Justice F. Pelletier, who moved to supernumerary status in October.

Also moving to the Court of Appeal is Superior Court Justice Dominique Bélanger. She fills the vacancy created by the departure of Justice Louis Rochette. Rochette also took supernumerary status in October.

Lawyers joining the bench in Quebec include Daniel Beaulieu, who replaces Justice C.H. Gendreau on the Superior Court Bench in Rimouski, Que.; Marc Paradis, a lawyer a Norton Rose Canada LLP who replaces Levesque at the Superior Court; Jacques Bouchard, a lawyer with Bouchard Pagé Tremblay who fills the vacancy left by Bélanger; sole practitioner Sandra Bouchard, who replaces Justice G. Duchesne at the Superior Court in Alma, Que.; and Jacques Blanchard, a lawyer with Stein Monast who replaces Superior Court Justice G. Taschereau. Gendreau and Duchesne both became supernumerary judges in recent months while Taschereau moved to supernumerary status on Nov. 4.