Province also appoints Clarissa Pearce as a justice assigned in Calgary
Alberta’s government has announced two appointments to the Alberta Court of Justice: Assistant Chief Justice David G. Hancock of the Edmonton Family and Youth Division, and Justice Clarissa V. Pearce in the Calgary Criminal Division and Calgary Region.
Hancock’s appointment took effect on May 7, while Pearce’s appointment will be effective as of May 14, according to a news release from the provincial government.
“I congratulate Justice Hancock and Clarissa Pearce, and I am confident they will excel in their new roles,” said Mickey Amery, Alberta’s justice minister and attorney general, in the news release.
The news release shared that these most recent appointments bring the province’s total judicial appointments to 25 in under two years.
“Alberta’s government is keeping its commitment to filling vacancies at the Alberta Court of Justice,” Amery said in the news release. “We will continue to strengthen the capacity of our courts to ensure Albertans can get timely access to justice.”
Alberta noted that it appointed three assistant chief justices and nine justices in 2024. Early this year, the province added one assistant chief justice and two justices: Chief Justice Gordon Putnam, Justice Christine A. Palmer, and Justice Emem Madu.
Hancock earned his LLB from the University of Alberta in 1979, joined Matheson & Company, and became a partner at the firm.
He previously held the following provincial government roles: premier, deputy premier, house leader, cabinet minister, and elected representative in the legislature for over 17 years. He has been an Edmonton Family and Youth Division judge since 2017.
He is a committee board member at the Alberta Law Reform Institute. At the Alberta Court of Justice, he belongs to the Edmonton Family and Youth Child Protection Committee, the Indigenous Strategies Committee, and the Reforming Family Justice Advisory Committee.
“Congratulations to Justice Hancock on his appointment to assistant chief justice of Edmonton Family and Youth,” said James Hunter, chief justice of the Alberta Court of Justice, in the news release. “His experiences and abilities will serve him well in maintaining access to justice for families in the Edmonton area.”
Pearce obtained her LLB from Dalhousie University in 2007 and her LLM from Harvard University in 2010. She served as an articled clerk at the Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary (now the Court of King’s Bench) and worked at Macleod Dixon LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright) until 2016.
At the Alberta Court of Justice, she has acted as legal counsel and currently serves as executive legal counsel to its chief justice.
She sits on the board of the Canadian Child Abuse Association. She was a member of the Indigenous Justice System – Knowledge Sharing Symposium Planning Committee for the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, as well as a facilitator and co-master of ceremonies at the event in Tsuut’ina Nation.
“Further congratulations to Ms. Pearce on her appointment to the Alberta Court of Justice,” Hunter said in the news release. “She brings a wealth of experience and ability to the court.”
