One appointed to the Sask. Court of Appeal and the other four to the Sask. Court of King's Bench
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti recently announced the appointments of Jillyne Drennan to the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan and John Morrall, Peter Bergbusch, Holli Kuski Bassett, and Dorinda Mae Stahl to the Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan.
“I wish Justices Drennan, Morrall, Bergbusch, Kuski Bassett, and Stahl every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the people of Saskatchewan well as members of the Court of Appeal and His Majesty’s Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan,” Lametti said.
Drennan recently served as a judge of the Court of King’s Bench in Regina. She replaces Justice Brian Barrington-Foote, who chose to become a supernumerary judge in April.
Before joining the Court of King’s Bench, Drennan served as legal director at Legal Aid Saskatchewan in Regina. Her primary practice areas are family law and civil litigation. She also acted as Crown counsel for the Ministry of Social Services in child protection proceedings.
She had appeared before all levels of courts in Saskatchewan and worked closely with various community organizations and First Nations groups. She is a past bencher of the Law Society of Saskatchewan (LSS) and previously volunteered with Pro Bono Law Saskatchewan. She has presented on evidence and advocacy issues at various continuing legal education forums.
She obtained her law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2005 and was called to the Saskatchewan bar in 2007.
Morrall is a former associate regional Crown prosecutor at the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General of Saskatchewan – Public Prosecutions in Prince Albert. He fills the remaining position created under the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1.
He began his career as a private legal practitioner specializing in wills and estates, family law, federal criminal prosecutions, and general civil practice. He joined the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General of Saskatchewan in 1997 and became an associate regional Crown prosecutor in 2014.
At the time of his judicial appointment, he was in his second term as a bencher for the LSS. In that role, he represented the Prince Albert region and served on the ethics, equity and access, governance, and King Counsel’s selection committees and model code subcommittee. Apart from serving as a hearing adjudicator several times, his peers elected him as vice president of the LSS in 2021.
He received his law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1992.
Bergbusch is a former partner at Miller Thomson LLP in Regina. He succeeds Justice Meghan McCreary, elevated to the Court of Appeal in June.
He first articled at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal before joining Balfour Moss LLP, where he became a partner in 2001. He continued his private practice with Miller Thomson LLP following the firms’ merger in 2011. His practice focused on shareholder and contract disputes, professional negligence claims, class actions, and occupational health and safety investigations. He received Queen’s counsel designation in 2019.
He previously sat on the Automobile Injury Appeals Commission, where he heard and decided appeals involving no-fault benefits. Moreover, he is the past president of L’Association des juristes d’expression française de la Saskatchewan and served on the Canadian Bar Association’s national resolutions committee and the Saskatchewan Trial Lawyers Association’s board of governors.
He earned his law degree from the University of Saskatchewan. He was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar in 1996.
Bassett is a former partner at McDougall Gauley LLP in Regina. She fills one of the two new positions created under the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1.
She began her legal career at MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP in Regina. She moved to McDougall Gauley LLP as an associate in 2010 and became a partner in 2017. She specializes in contentious estate disputes and corporate commercial litigation and has represented clients before all levels of courts in Saskatchewan.
Apart from her legal work, she was actively involved with the CBA’s Saskatchewan branch as treasurer and chair of its 2022 mid-winter meeting. She was also part of the dean’s advisory council at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law.
She obtained her law degree, with great distinction, from the University of Saskatchewan in 2008 and was called to the Saskatchewan bar in 2009.
Stahl recently served as a judge of the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan in La Ronge. She replaces Justice Grant Currie, who elected to become a supernumerary judge in November 2021.
Stahl first maintained a private practice, focusing on family law, civil litigation, and criminal law. She joined the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General of Saskatchewan – Public Prosecutions in 2008 and became a senior crown prosecutor in 2015. She was seconded to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada from 2014 to 2016. In 2021, he was appointed a judge of the Provincial Court.
She worked as a sessional lecturer at the First Nations University of Canada and the University of Saskatchewan. She also served as creator, content developer, and author in overhauling the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education’s bar course.
She received her law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2005 and was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar in 2006.
The University of Saskatchewan College of Law is one of the institutions in Canada that offers courses in construction law.
