Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces judicial appointments in the province of Alberta

OTTAWA, ON, June 12, 2023 /CNW/ - The Honourable David Lametti, 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.

Christopher A. Rickards, K.C., Partner at Johnston Ming Manning LLP in Red Deer, is appointed a Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta in Red Deer. Justice Rickards fills the remaining position authorized further to the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1.

Melanie Gaston, Partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Calgary, is appointed a Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta in Calgary. Justice Gaston replaces Justice M.R. Bast (Red Deer), who resigned effective January 4, 2022. The Chief Justice has transferred Justice G.D. Marriott (Calgary) into this vacancy. The vacancy is therefore located in Calgary.

Quote

"I wish Justices Rickards and Gaston every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve Albertans well as a members of the Court of King's Bench."

—The Hon. David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biographies

Justice Christopher A. Rickards, K.C., was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and lived there until his family immigrated to Canada in 1979. He moved to Calgary and did his undergraduate studies at the University of Calgary, then attended law school at the University of Toronto. He received numerous awards and scholarships during his university career and graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in philosophy and political science in 1986 and from the University of Toronto with a Juris Doctor degree in 1990. He was called to the Alberta bar in 1991.

Justice Rickards articled and practised in Calgary at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP before joining Johnston Ming Manning LLP in 1992, where he was the head of the litigation department and the managing partner for many years. He had a general litigation practice, with commercial, personal injury, estate, and construction litigation and employment law being his main areas of focus. He was appointed King's Counsel in 2014.

Justice Rickards is a past chair of the Board of the Central Alberta Community Legal Clinic, a former member of the Board of Directors of Pro Bono Law Alberta, and past president of the Central Alberta Bar Society, and he was the Red Deer Judicial District representative of the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association for a number of years. He was also involved with a number of fundraising activities for Red Deer Polytechnic.

During his years as President of the Central Alberta Bar Society, Justice Rickards was significantly involved in advocating for a much-needed new courthouse for Red Deer and was pleased to see those efforts and the efforts of others bear fruit in the new Justice Centre for Red Deer which is in the process of being built and promises to improve access to justice for Central Albertans.

Justice Melanie Gaston was raised in the Niagara Region of Ontario and has lived in Calgary since 1998. She received her B.A. (Hons.) from Queen's University, her LL.B. from the University of Calgary, and her LL.M. from Osgoode Hall. She was called to the Alberta bar in 2002 and the Northwest Territories bar in 2022.

Justice Gaston practised commercial litigation at two firms through her career: first at Blake Cassels and Graydon LLP and then at Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP. She managed a diverse practice with experience in energy, construction, insurance, securities, product liability, insolvency, and commercial leasing disputes. She also regularly accepted and appeared on a number of pro bono matters.

Actively involved in her community throughout her career, Justice Gaston was a member of the boards of directors for Trellis Society, the Association of Women Lawyers, Student Legal Assistance, the Calgary Bar Association, and the Calgary Rotary Foundation. She enjoyed being a volunteer lawyer for Student Legal Assistance, Calgary Legal Guidance, and Pro Bono Law Alberta. Frequently speaking at legal and industry professional development programmes, she has also spent rewarding hours as a principal and mentor. She often wrote about civil litigation and advocacy matters for a number of publications.

Justice Gaston and her husband, Jason, are fortunate to be the parents of three accomplished daughters.    

Quick Facts

• The Government of Canada has appointed more than 620 judges since November 2015. These exceptional jurists represent the diversity that strengthens Canada. Of these judges, more than half are women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of visible minorities, 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

Contacts: For more information, media may contact: Diana Ebadi, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Justice, 343-574-3446, [email protected]; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [email protected]