Goyette appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal and Pelletier to the Tax Court of Canada
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti has announced the appointments of Nathalie Goyette to the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) and Anick Pelletier to the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) as new judges.
Goyette is a former partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Montreal. She fills a new position created under the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1.
She began her career with the Department of Justice Canada, where she was a tax lawyer for 16 years. She then moved to major Canadian law firms and continued her tax litigation practice. In 2019, she joined Davies as a partner. She has represented corporate and individual clients on all aspects of tax litigation matters relating to income tax, goods and services tax, provincial sales tax, tax avoidance, and mining tax.
She is a past governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation and sat on the TCC’s rules and judicial advisory committees. She also chaired the Canadian Bar Association’s tax court bench and bar committee and served as president of the Dalhousie Law Alumni Association’s Quebec branch for several years.
Besides her legal work, she is a frequent speaker at national and international tax seminars and has authored numerous publications, including a book on tax treaty abuse. She received an order of merit from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Civil Law.
She completed a Licentiate in Law at the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Laws degree at Dalhousie University. She also holds a Master of Taxation degree from the University of Sherbrooke. She was called to the Quebec bar in 1990.
Pelletier recently served as an assistant deputy minister at Justice Canada’s Tax Law Services Portfolio in Ottawa. She replaces Justice Johanne D’Auray, who resigned from the judicial post in April.
She has had a long career at Justice Canada. She first worked as a litigator and handled cases involving bankruptcy and insolvency, administrative law, Crown liability, and tax collection. Her tax law experience resulted in her handling complex Indigenous tax cases.
She then held management positions with a significant law management component in the Quebec Regional Office. In 2008, she was assigned to the Tax Law Services Portfolio as an associate assistant deputy minister. In 2019, she was transferred to the National Litigation Sector, where she served as an assistant deputy attorney general. In March 2022, she rejoined the Tax Law Services Portfolio as an assistant deputy minister.
Throughout her career, she has mentored University of Ottawa Faculty of Civil Law students participating in the Pierre-Basil Mignault Moot Court Competition and conducted lectures as part of the Barreau du Québec’s training activities.
She began studying law at the University of Ottawa in 1989. She obtained a Licentiate in Law and went on to complete a Master of Laws degree. She was admitted to the Quebec bar in 1993.
