OTTAWA,
ON, July 24, 2024 /CNW/ - The
Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney
General of Canada, today announced
the following appointments under the judicial application process
established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit,
and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to
ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of
excellence and integrity.
The Honourable Renee M. Pomerance, Regional Senior Judge
of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario for the Southwest Region, is appointed
a Judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Toronto. Justice
Pomerance replaces Justice D.H.
Doherty, who resigned effective March
9, 2024.
The Honourable E. Ria
Tzimas, a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of
Ontario in Brampton, is appointed Regional Senior Judge
of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario for the Central West Region.
Justice Tzimas replaces Justice
L. Ricchetti (Brampton), who elected to become a
supernumerary judge effective July 30,
2023.
Michelle Flaherty, a sole
practitioner in Ottawa, is
appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in L'Orignal. Justice Flaherty replaces Justice J.O.R. Pelletier (L'Orignal), who elected to
become a supernumerary judge effective May
1, 2023.
Brian
DeLorenzi, Partner at O'Neill DeLorenzi Nanne in
Sault Ste. Marie, is appointed a
Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Sault
Ste. Marie. Justice DeLorenzi
replaces Justice E.E. Gareau
(Sault Ste. Marie), who elected to
become a supernumerary judge effective June
30, 2024.
Jacqueline A. Horvat,
Counsel at Gillian Hnatiw & Co. in Toronto, is appointed a Judge of the Superior
Court of Justice of Ontario in
Windsor. Justice Horvat replaces Justice K.W. Munroe (Windsor), who retired effective February 7, 2024.
Quote
"I wish Justices Pomerance, Tzimas, Flaherty, DeLorenzi, and
Horvat every success as they take on their new roles. I am
confident they will serve Ontarians well as members of the Court of
Appeal for Ontario and the
Superior Court of Justice of Ontario".
—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister
of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Biographies
Justice Renee M.
Pomerance received a Bachelor of Science (Honours –
with distinction) in 1984 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1987
from the University of Toronto. She was
admitted to the Bar of Ontario in
1989.
Justice Pomerance was appointed
Regional Senior Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of
Ontario for the Southwest Region
in October 2023. She was previously
appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in 2006. Before becoming a member of
the judiciary, she practised with Crown Law Office - Criminal,
Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario (1989-2006) with leaves of absence to
act as counsel to the Honourable Peter Cory (2002-2003), and to act
as Senior Advisor at the National Judicial Institute, Ottawa (2003-2004). Her practice expertise was
in the areas of criminal law, constitutional law, and judicial
education.
Justice E. Ria
Tzimas received a Bachelor of Arts from
McGill University in 1988. She received
a Bachelor of Laws in 1991 from Osgoode Hall Law School and a
Master of Law in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution in 1999.
She was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1993.
At the time of her appointment to the Superior Court of Justice
of Ontario in 2012, Justice Tzimas was a Crown attorney with the
Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario. She was previously an associate with
Sotos, Karvanis in Toronto from
1993 to 1998. Her main areas of practice were Aboriginal law, civil
litigation, and dispute resolution.
Justice Tzimas was an adjunct
professor at Osgoode Hall Law School from 2009 to 2012.
Justice Michelle
Flaherty graduated with a Bachelor of Business
Administration degree from Bishop's
University in 1992. She then attended the University of Ottawa, receiving an LLB from the
French Common Law Program in1998 and a Masters of Law in 2012. She
clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada and was called to the Bar of
Ontario in 2001.
Justice Flaherty was an Associate
professor of law at the University of
Ottawa from 2012 to 2018. Her teaching focussed on access to
justice and, more specifically, the role judges and other
adjudicators play in making the justice system more accessible. She
received an Excellence in teaching award in 2016. She also
practised civil litigation, labour and employment law, and human
rights with a leading Ontario law
firm. In 2008, she became a Vice-Chair of the Ontario Human Rights
Tribunal and, was more recently a labour arbitrator, mediator, and
independent investigator working in French and English in many
Canadian jurisdictions. She was inducted into the University of Ottawa Common Law Honours Society for
her service to the law school and the profession. In 2011, she was
named one of Bishop's University's Top
10 after 10 graduates.
Justice Flaherty is a
franco-Ontarian from rural eastern Ontario. She is grateful for the support of
her family, her husband Blake, and their two children.
Justice Brian
DeLorenzi was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie. He obtained a Bachelor of
Public Administration degree in 1997 followed by a Bachelor of Laws
in 2001 from the University of Windsor.
He was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2002.
Justice DeLorenzi began his law
career as an associate at O'Neill DeLorenzi Cresswell Ostroski, now
O'Neill DeLorenzi Nanne where he had been a partner since 2007. He
worked in all areas of civil litigation primarily in insurance
defence with a focus on personal injury. His practice also involved
a wide range of civil litigation including estate, commercial, and
employment disputes. He appeared at every level of court in
Ontario. His varied practice
allowed him to represent a diverse range of public organizations,
private companies, and individuals.
Justice DeLorenzi was a frequent
contributor to continuing legal education and was actively involved
in his community. He was a member of the Algoma District Law
Association and also served on its executive including as
president. He served as Treasurer on the board of the local John
Howard Society. He enjoyed taking an active role coaching his
children hockey and football teams. He served the Italian community
of Sault Ste. Marie as a counselor
and as the president of the G. Marconi Society.
Justice DeLorenzi and his wife
Mary have three children who they are extremely proud of. He is
happiest on his boat and with his family at the cottage on
Lake Huron.
Justice Jacqueline A.
Horvat grew up in Windsor where she obtained her LL.B. from the
University of Windsor in 2001. She was
called to the Bar of Ontario in
2002.
Justice Horvat practiced as a
litigation lawyer representing both plaintiffs and defendants in
complex commercial disputes, shareholder oppression disputes,
economic torts, class action litigation, civil sexual assault, and
appeals. She was also involved in collaborative projects with the
University of Windsor, including the
Reclaim Pro Bono Project which provides free legal advice and
representation to clients who have suffered technology facilitated
violence. She was also a frequent guest lecturer at University of Windsor's Faculty of Law.
In 2022, during her third term as a bencher, Justice Horvat was elected as the Treasurer of
the Law Society of Ontario, the
top elected official of the body regulating Ontario's nearly 60,000 lawyers and 11,000
paralegals. She championed equity, diversity and inclusion, access
to justice, women in law, and the use of technology in law. She is
also a past Vice-President and past Ontario representative on the Council of the
Federation of Law Societies of Canada. She chaired the National Requirement
Review Committee. She previously served as a director of Library
Co. Inc. (now LiRN) and of the Ontario Judicial Education Network
(OJEN), an organization dedicated to fostering public understanding
of the judicial system.
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada has
appointed more than 760 judges since November 2015. This includes 137 appointments
since the Honourable Arif Virani became Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of Canada on
July 26, 2023, a pace of appointments
that has no precedent in Canadian History. These exceptional
jurists represent the diversity that strengthens Canada. Of these judges, more than half are
women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of
racialized persons, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+, and those who
self-identify as having a disability.
- To support the needs of the courts and improve access to
justice for all Canadians, the Government of Canada is committed to increasing the capacity
of superior courts. Budget 2022 provides for 22 new judicial
positions, along with two associate judges at the Tax Court of
Canada. Along with the 13
positions created under Budget 2021, this makes a total of 37 newly
created superior court positions. Since Budget 2017, the government
has funded 116 new judicial positions.
- Changes to the Questionnaire for Federal Judicial Appointments
were announced in September 2022. The
questionnaire continues to provide for a robust and thorough
assessment of candidates but has been streamlined and updated to
incorporate, among other things, more respectful and inclusive
language for individuals to self-identify diversity
characteristics.
- Federal judicial appointments are made by the Governor General,
acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet and recommendations
from the Minister of Justice.
- The Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada play a key role in evaluating judicial
applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each
province and territory represented.
- Significant reforms to the role and structure of the Judicial
Advisory Committees, aimed at enhancing the independence and
transparency of the process, were announced on October 20, 2016.
- The Government of Canada is
committed to promoting a justice system in which sexual assault
matters are decided fairly, without the influence of myths and
stereotypes, and in which survivors are treated with dignity and
compassion. Changes to the Judges Act and Criminal
Code that came into force on May 6,
2021, mean that in order to be eligible for appointment to a
provincial superior court, candidates must agree to participate in
continuing education on matters related to sexual assault law and
social context, which includes systemic racism and systemic
discrimination. The new legislation enhances the transparency of
decisions by amending the Criminal Code to require that
judges provide written reasons, or enter them into the record, when
deciding sexual assault matters.
SOURCE Department of Justice
Canada