Government of Canada announces judicial appointment in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador

OTTAWA, Nov. 2, 2018 /CNW/ - The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment under the new judicial application process introduced on October 20, 2016. The new process emphasizes transparency, merit, and diversity, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Daniel Boone, Q.C., a partner at Stewart McKelvey LLP, is appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John's. He replaces Justice D.E. Fry, who was appointed Chief Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador on June 21, 2018.

Biography

Justice Daniel Boone graduated from Memorial University with a B.A. in 1984, and from the University of Ottawa with an LL.B. in 1988. He articled with Stirling Ryan, was called to the Bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1989, and practised throughout his entire legal career with Stirling Ryan and the successor merged firm of Stewart McKelvey.

Justice Boone's practice focused on civil litigation. He has extensive trial and appellate experience in medical malpractice, insurance law, construction law and class actions. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2014 and was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2015. During his legal career, Justice Boone dedicated considerable time to the professional development of younger lawyers through teaching at the Bar Admission Course, presentations to professional organizations, and mentoring. He was voted the Stewart McKelvey Mentor of the Year in 2017.

Justice Boone has been involved in the community throughout his career, most recently in the areas of access to justice, as Chair of the Law Foundation, and the arts, as a director of both the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation and the Perchance Theatre Company.

Justice Boone lives in St. John's with his wife, Catherine French, and their two children.

Quick Facts

• Since taking office, the Minister of Justice has made over 230 judicial appointments, including 100 in 2017 – the most a Minister of Justice has made in one year in at least two decades. Of the individuals appointed, over half are women, eight are Indigenous, 20 identify as visible minorities, 13 identify as LGBTQ2, and three identify as persons with disabilities.
• The Government of Canada is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 will provide funding of $77.2 million over four years to support the expansion of unified family courts, beginning in 2019-2020. This investment in the family justice system will create 39 new judicial positions in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
• In addition, Budget 2018 provided funding for a further seven judicial positions in Saskatchewan and Ontario, at a cost of $17.1 million over five years.
• The funding outlined in Budget 2018 comes on top of resources allocated under Budget 2017, which created 28 new judicial positions across the country.
• In addition, the Government will invest $6 million over two years, beginning in 2018-2019, to support the judicial discipline process through which allegations of judicial misconduct are investigated. In this way, the Government will ensure that a robust process remains in place to allow Canadians to voice their concerns and submit complaints about judicial conduct to the Canadian Judicial Council and the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.
• 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. Sixteen Judicial Advisory Committees have been reconstituted to date.

SOURCE Department of Justice Canada

For further information: media may contact: Célia Canon, Communications Advisor, Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 613-862-3270; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [e-mail]

Related Links

http://www.justice.gc.ca/