Ten new federal appointments announced in first week of February
In the first week of February the Government of Canada announced nine new judicial appointments to provincial courts across Canada and one to the Federal Court.
David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, made the announcements on Feb. 3 and 6, according to news releases from the Department of Justice Canada.
The new appointments include that of Christine Pallotta to the Federal Court. An intellectual property lawyer, Pallotta joined Bereskin & Parr in 1999, then Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in 2011, where she served as national leader of its IP litigation focus group. Called to the Ontario bar in 1997, she holds a JD from the University of Toronto. She is a co-founder of the Women in IP Networking Group.
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Ontario
In Ontario, Andrew Pinto and Kathleen Cullin were appointed to the Superior Court of Justice; Suzanne Stevenson, was appointed a senior judge to the Superior Court of Justice; and Stephen Firestone was appointed regional senior judge of the Superior Court of Justice.
Read more: Timmins and Toronto lawyers become judges; Justices Stevenson, Firestone promoted
Manitoba
Theodor Bock has been appointed a puisne judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, replacing Justice Robert Dewar, who is assigned in Winnipeg. Dewar has elected to become a supernumerary judge effective Oct. 2.
Called to the Manitoba bar in 1991 after obtaining a law degree from the University of Manitoba, Bock is a partner at MLT Aikins LLP in Winnipeg. He focuses his practice on civil and commercial litigation, administrative law, professional regulation, insurance law and labour and employment law.
Bock has served as a bencher and as president of the Law Society of Manitoba. He was an instructor at the law society’s bar admission and CPLED programs, as well as a sessional lecturer at the Robson Hall Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba.
New Brunswick
Krista Colford has been appointed a judge at the family division of the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick, replacing Justice Marie-Claude Bélanger-Richard, who is assigned in Saint John. Bélanger-Richard will fill the vacancy created by Justice Colette d'Entremont, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective June 4.
After earning her law degree from the University of New Brunswick, Colford undertook graduate studies in insolvency and complex litigation before being admitted to the New Brunswick and Ontario bars in 1993. She then practised at law firm Eddy Young Hoyt and Downs and taught at the University of New Brunswick. In 1997, she began a career in the legal services branch at the Office of the Attorney General of New Brunswick, focusing on civil litigation and administrative law. In 2016, Colford was appointed Queen’s Counsel. She is also an active member of the Law Society of New Brunswick.
Nathalie Godbout has also been appointed a judge at the family division of the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick, replacing Justice Anne Wooder, who is assigned in Fredericton. Wooder has elected to become a supernumerary judge effective Nov. 6.
Godbout received her law degree from the University of New Brunswick and joined the bar of New Brunswick in 1995. She then became a founding partner of Saint John firm Godbout Fawcett. In her 24 years in the legal profession she has focused her practice on litigation, negotiation and advocacy in the fields of insurance, professional liability and health law. She belongs to the ethics committee of the Law Society of New Brunswick.
In 2016, she was appointed Queen’s Counsel. In the same year, she was honoured as one of YWCA’s Women of Distinction, owing to “her professional accomplishments and her advocacy for gender-based equity through work, volunteerism, and mentoring.”
Quebec
Nancy Bonsaint has been appointed a puisne judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Quebec, replacing Justice Catherine La Rosa, who has been appointed Senior Associate Chief Justice effective Sept. 30.
After obtaining a civil law degree from the University of Ottawa, she was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1994. A litigator with a focus on litigation work on Aboriginal law, constitutional law and class actions, she was in private practice and the civil service for 25 years. She worked at the Office of the Attorney General of Quebec before serving as general counsel for the Office of the Attorney General of Canada (National Litigation Sector — Quebec Regional Office).
She has given training courses in Aboriginal law at Justice Canada, and since 2018 has served as president of the Comité sur les femmes dans la profession in the Barreau du Québec.
Saskatchewan
Naheed Bardai has been appointed a judge of the Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan, replacing Justice Guy Chicoine, who is assigned in Estevan. Chicoine has resigned effective Sept. 6.
With a law degree from the University of Ottawa, Bardai was called to the Ontario bar in 2001 and to the Saskatchewan bar in 2004. He initially practised with Ottawa firm Nelligan O'Brien Payne LLP before moving to the Saskatoon office of MLT Aikins LLP. He has been with the latter firm for 15 years, serving as a partner in its civil litigation group.
He has held leadership positions in the Saskatchewan Trial Lawyers Association, Habitat for Humanity, the Ismaili Muslim Council for the Prairies, the Canadian Condominium Institute, the Ontario Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division and Junior Achievement Saskatchewan. He has taught for the Canadian Bar Association’s civil litigation section and for the CPLED articling student program.