Gabrielle St-Hilaire appointed as chief justice of the Tax Court of Canada

The Tax Court of Canada has welcomed the appointment of its new chief justice, Gabrielle St-Hilaire.

St-Hilaire, who has been serving as a judge on the Tax Court since 2018, will replace Justice Eugene P. Rossiter, who elected to become a supernumerary judge.

Before St-Hilaire’s appointment to the Tax Court, she was a professor in the French Common Law Program at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. During her tenure, she was also vice-dean from 2005 to 2007. She taught tax law and corporate law for over 26 years and received several awards for her excellence in teaching.

From 2001 to 2003, St-Hilaire took a leave of absence from the University of Ottawa to work as legal counsel with the tax litigation section of the Department of Justice Canada. Additionally, she was a part-time member of the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board and the Health Services Appeal and Review Board, two administrative tribunals based in Ontario, for over a decade.

St-Hilaire has co-supervised students assisting self-represented taxpayers in appeals before the Tax Court of Canada through a Pro Bono Students Canada project. She also volunteered and supervised students preparing tax and benefit returns for low-income taxpayers under the federal government’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program.

Her involvement in the legal community extended beyond her judicial duties. St-Hilaire served as treasurer of the board of directors of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law and as a trustee of the Research and Education Charitable Trust of the National Association of Women and the Law. She also sat on the board of directors of the Association of French-Speaking Jurists of Ontario.

St-Hilaire's educational background includes a Bachelor of Education (1980) and a Bachelor of Arts (1986) from the University of Manitoba. Between 1980 and 1987, she taught mathematics and chemistry in Manitoba high schools. She later earned a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa and clerked for judges of the Tax Court of Canada.

In his statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed confidence in St-Hilaire's abilities, stating, "I wish the Honourable Gabrielle St-Hilaire every success as she takes on her new role as Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada. She is a respected member of the legal community and has extensive experience in many areas of the law. I am confident she will be a great asset to the Tax Court of Canada."