August 30, 2004
Ottawa, Ontario

NEWS RELEASE

Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that Her Excellency the Governor General has approved his recommendation that the Honourable Louise V. Charron and the Honourable Rosalie Silberman Abella be appointed as Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada.

“I am pleased to appoint these two outstanding individuals to sit on the highest court of the land,” said Prime Minister Martin. “I also believe that in using a more transparent approach to nominate these appointees, we have provided Canadians with a greater understanding of the selection process and the qualities of those nominated to our top court.”

Justices Charron and Abella will replace the Honourable Louise Arbour and the Honourable Frank Iacobucci. The appointments come into effect immediately.

"Justices Abella and Charron bring a wealth of expertise and experience in both public and private law - and exemplary personal qualities - to the Supreme Court,” said Justice Minister Irwin Cotler. “These are wonderful appointments for the court and country."

For the first time, the appointments of Justices Charron and Abella were made using a process that promotes greater transparency and openness and greater parliamentary involvement. Under this approach the Government, in concert with the opposition, established an ad hoc committee comprised of members of Parliament and representatives of the judiciary and legal community to review the nominations. The Committee will also separately provide its advice on the ad hoc committee process itself, for consideration on the question of a longer term selection process.

Biographical notes are attached.


BIOGRAPHY OF THE HONOURABLE LOUISE V. CHARRON

The Honourable Louise V. Charron received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa in 1975 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1977.

She has been a Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal since 1995. She was first appointed to the District Court of Ontario in 1988. She has also been a Deputy Judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice since 1999.

From 1977 to 1980, she practiced civil litigation with the Ottawa firm of Lalonde, Chartrand & Gouin, and was part-time Assistant Crown Attorney. From 1980 to 1985, she was Assistant Crown Attorney for the Judicial District of Ottawa-Carleton. From 1985 to 1988, Madam Justice Charron was Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. In 1988, she was appointed to the Ontario Police Commission.

Madam Justice Charron has been very active in judicial training, serving as Associate Director of the National Judicial Institute from 1994 to 1996 and 2003-2004. She is the author of various legal publications and is a frequent lecturer. She has participated in many professional organizations, including the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario. She is the recipient of an Honourary Doctorate from the Law Society of Upper Canada; as well, she was inducted in the Common Law Honour Society of the University of Ottawa in 2003.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE HONOURABLE ROSALIE SILBERMAN ABELLA

The Honourable Rosalie Silberman Abella received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1970 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1972.

She was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1992. She was appointed to the Ontario Family Court in 1976.

Madam Justice Abella chaired the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Ontario Law Reform Commission and the Study on Access to Legal Services by the Disabled. She was also a member of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Ontario Public Service Labour Relations Tribunal and the Canadian Judicial Council’s Inquiry on Donald Marshall Jr. As well, she was sole Commissioner of the 1984 Royal Commission on Equality in Employment.

She is the author of more than 70 legal articles and author or co-editor of four books on a variety of legal topics. She is a frequent lecturer, both in Canada and internationally. She taught at McGill Law School as the Boulton Visiting Professor, and was a Distinguished Visiting Faculty lecturer at the University of Toronto Law School. She has been awarded 20 honourary degrees, including an Honourary Doctorate from the Law Society of Upper Canada, the International Justice Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation, and the Walter S. Tarnopolsky Award conferred by the Canadian Bar Association and the International Commission of Jurists.

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