Judicial appointments announced: Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Saskatchewan

David Lametti, federal justice minister and attorney general, has named new judges joining the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the Superior Court of Quebec and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Saskatchewan.

Lorena Harris, appointed a justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, replaces Justice Joanne Goss in Edmonton, who elected to resign effective Sept. 11, 2020. For the past 26 years, Harris has worked at Milner Fenerty and its successors, including Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP and Dentons Canada LLP, focusing on complex commercial litigation and professional liability litigation. She earned her law degree from the University of British Columbia in 1994 and admission to the Alberta bar in 1995.

Frank Hoskins, a new judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, takes the place of Justice Michael Wood in Halifax, who was appointed Nova Scotia’s chief justice on Apr. 15, 2019. Justice Scott Norton in Pictou was transferred into this vacancy, so the new vacancy is in Pictou. Hoskins has served as a judge of the Provincial and Family Courts of Nova Scotia and as chief Crown attorney for the Halifax Region and Special Prosecutions. He was president of the Nova Scotia Provincial Court Judges Association. He received his law degree from Dalhousie Law School in 1989, admission to the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society in 1990 and appointment as Queen’s Counsel in 2006.

Four new puisne judges have been appointed to the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal: Yvan Poulin, Daniel Urbas, Louis Charette and Gabrielle Brochu.

Poulin, replacing Justice Nicole Gibeau who resigned effective Jan. 1, has been a judge of the Court of Quebec in Montreal, a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges and a prosecutor at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. He obtained his law degree from the University of Montréal and admission to the Quebec bar in 1991.

Urbas, taking the place of Justice Carol Cohen who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective Feb. 1., founded Urbas Arbitral in 2017 to work as an arbitrator and mediator and previously practised at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Woods LLP and Heenan Blaikie LLP. Urbas earned degrees in common law and civil law from McGill University and membership to the Barreau du Québec in 1992, to the Law Society of Ontario in 1998 and to the Law Society of British Columbia in 2004.

Charette, replacing Justice Louis Gouin who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective Feb. 3, has served as a partner in the litigation and dispute resolution group of Lavery de Billy, LLP, as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, as chair of the Young Lawyers Section and a member of the national executive of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Community Section of the Canadian Bar Association and as a member of the LGBTQ2 Committee of the Bar of Montreal. He received a BCL and an LLB from McGill University in 1994 and membership to the Quebec bar in 1995 and to the Law Society of Ontario in 1998.

Brochu, taking the place of Justice Michel Girouard who elected to resign effective Feb. 25, has been a partner at Langlois Lawyers LLP in Montreal for a decade and has sat on its board of directors and its executive committee. Brochu has volunteered for suicide prevention efforts for almost two decades, has taught civil evidence at the École du Barreau and has acted as a trainer for the Séminaire des techniques de plaidoirie. She obtained her law degree from Laval University and admission to the Quebec bar in 2002.

Keith Kilback, appointed a justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Saskatchewan, replaces Justice D.B. Konkin in Estevan, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective Aug. 31, 2020. Kilback has served as a partner at Kanuka Thuringer LLP focusing on civil litigation, administrative law and transportation law; as an inquest coroner; and as director of the Canadian Transport Lawyers Association. He earned a JD from the University of Saskatchewan in 1994, admission to the Saskatchewan bar in 1995 and to the British Columbia bar in 1997 and appointment as Queen’s Counsel in 2018.

The B.C. Ministry of Attorney General also announced the appointments of three new Provincial Court judges: Dannielle Dunn, Sheila Archer and Derek Mah. Two new judicial justices were likewise named: Leslie-Anne Wall and Hugh McCall, both effective on pronouncement.

Dunn, appointed effective July 27, has been a poverty law lawyer at the Langley Legal Assistance Centre and counsel for the director of child, family and community service at Somers Poulin Hall.

Archer, appointed effective July 27, has served as Crown counsel, as a legal officer in the Canadian Armed Forces Office of the Judge Advocate General, as counsel for the Medical Services Commission at the B.C. Ministry of Attorney General Legal Services Branch Health and Social Services Division and as counsel to the Special Investigations Unit at the Ministry of Health.

Mah, appointed effective July 15, was a member of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia defence and family law groups at Alexander Holburn, LLP, and then a sole practitioner focusing on family law and plaintiff's personal injury work.

Wall was a litigator with over three decades of experience in criminal law and a supervising lawyer and adjunct professor with the Law Students Legal Advice Program at the Peter A. Allard School of Law.

McCall, who received his chartered arbitrator designation in 1994, has been working in conflict management and resolution since 1989 and has acted as a mediator and arbitrator in matters relating to residential tenancy, municipal bylaw and motor vehicle warranty.