Government of Canada announces judicial appointment in the province of Ontario

OTTAWA, Oct. 27, 2017 /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 announced 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.

The Honourable Marvin Kurz, a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice in and for the Province of Ontario in Milton. He replaces Mr. Justice D.K. Gray, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective January 1, 2017.

Biography

Mr. Justice Marvin Kurz was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in December 2015. Before his appointment to the bench, Justice Kurz spent over 32 years as a civil, family, and human rights lawyer. He appeared as counsel at all levels of court throughout Canada, in addition to the Canadian and British Columbia Human Rights Tribunals and two Royal Commissions of Inquiry. Prior to joining the Ontario Court of Justice, Justice Kurz also sat as a Small Claims Court deputy judge and a Dispute Resolution Officer in the Peel Superior Court of Justice in Peel Region.

Justice Kurz has a long and remarkable history of pro bono legal work and community involvement. He was national legal counsel to the B'nai Brith League for Human Rights as well as its national and Ontario chair. He was a member of the Toronto Mayor's Committee on Community and Race Relations, a part-time chair of the Board of Inquiry under the Police Services Act, and a member of the Office of the Children's Lawyer's Child Representation Panel.

Justice Kurz has both organized and spoken at numerous continuing legal education programmes regarding legal and human rights issues. In service to the legal community, Justice Kurz was a long-time member of the executive of the Peel Law Association, chair of its Family Law and Continuing Legal Education committees, the founding chair of Mediation Arbitration Peel, and a member of the Osborne Civil Justice Reform Project.

Justice Kurz has been awarded the Peel Law Association's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Excerpts from Justice Kurz's judicial application will be available shortly.

Quick Facts

• Budget 2017 includes additional funding of $55 million over five years beginning in 2017-2018 and $15.5 million per year thereafter for 28 new federally appointed judges. Of these new positions, 12 have been allotted to Alberta and one to the Yukon, with the remaining 15 being assigned to a pool for needs in other jurisdictions.
• To ensure a judiciary that is responsive, ethical and sensitive to the evolving needs of Canadian society, the Canadian Judicial Council will receive $2.7 million over five years and $0.5 million ongoing thereafter. This will support programming on judicial education, ethics and conduct, including in relation to gender and cultural sensitivity.
• 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.  
• This process is separate from the Supreme Court of Canada judicial appointment process currently under way. Nominees to the Supreme Court of Canada are selected by the Prime Minister from a thoroughly vetted list of candidates.

SOURCE Department of Justice Canada

For further information: media may contact: Kathleen Davis, Communications and Parliamentary Affairs Advisor, Office of the Minister of Justice, 613-992-4621; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [e-mail]

Related Links

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