B.C. appoints six provincial court judges to support COVID-19 response efforts

Three retired senior judges have been reappointed to the bench

B.C. appoints six provincial court judges to support COVID-19 response efforts
The B.C. government has made six appointments to its provincial court to deal with impact of Covid-19.

The B.C. government has announced six judicial appointments to the Provincial Court.

The provincial government intends for the new appointments and reappointments to address delays and case backlog issues, as well as to strengthen COVID-19 response efforts in light of the pandemic’s impact on the justice system.

Effective Aug. 10, three new judges will join the bench: Wendy Bernt, Oliver Fleck and Tamera Golinsky.

Bernt is experienced in the field of child protection, having exclusively focused her practice on this area for the past 15 years. She recently commenced acting on behalf of the government in relation to child protection matters. She has been practising in B.C. since February 1999.

Fleck has been Crown counsel since 2012. He has practised in the area of international trade agreements and disputes as counsel for the federal government.

Golinsky has also served as Crown counsel, working out of Dawson Creek for 15 years. She previously practised family law and insurance law in two private firms.

Effective July 21, three senior judges have been reappointed for a one-year term: Jane Cartwright, Thomas Gove and Richard Miller.

Justice Cartwright had previously retired effective Dec. 31, 2019 after about 25 years on the bench. Justice Gove had retired on Jan. 31 this year after three decades with the provincial court. Justice Miller had retired on Mar. 31, 2018 following around 26 years with the court.