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

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 24, 2022 /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.

The Honourable Ronald A. Skolrood, a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver, is appointed a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. Justice Skolrood replaces Justice G.B. Butler, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective April 1, 2022.

Joseph M. Doyle, K.C., a sole practitioner in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver. Justice Doyle replaces Justice K. Horsman (Vancouver), who was elevated to the Court of Appeal effective April 19, 2022.

Kevin D. Loo, K.C., Partner at Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver. Justice Loo replaces Justice J.R. Groves (Vancouver), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective June 11, 2022.

Anita Chan, Crown Counsel at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver. Justice Chan replaces Justice G. Choi (Vancouver), who resigned effective July 14, 2022.

Quote

"I wish Justices Skolrood, Doyle, Loo, and Chan every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve British Columbians well as members of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of British Columbia."

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

Biographies

Justice Ronald A. Skolrood, was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2013. He attended the University of Lethbridge and earned a B.A. in 1983 and an LL.B. from the University of Victoria in 1986. He also completed an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge in 1989. He was admitted to the Bar of British Columbia in 1988 and to the Bar of the Northwest Territories in 2010.

At the time of his appointment to the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Justice Skolrood had practised with Lawson Lundell LLP in Vancouver since 1987. His main areas of practice were civil and commercial litigation. He was appointed King's Counsel in 2012.

Justice Skolrood was a board member of the B.C. Law Institute, acting as the Chair from 2007 to 2012. He was also a member of the Canadian Bar Association, National Constitutional and Human Rights Law Section, and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia Special Compensation Fund Committee. He was a sessional lecturer at the University of Victoria and a course group leader at the University of British Columbia.

Justice Joseph M. Doyle, K.C., was born and raised in Vancouver, aside from a few years as a young child when his family lived in Portland, Oregon. He completed a joint law and commerce degree at the University of British Columbia in 1988. He has practised law for over 30 years, conducting trials, appeals and other matters before all courts in British Columbia, and appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada and courts in Manitoba and Yukon.

Justice Doyle was defence counsel, Crown counsel, special prosecutor, amicus curiae and counsel before and to various tribunals. Known primarily for his work in criminal and administrative law, his practice also included civil litigation. He has been a staunch supporter of legal education and access to justice throughout his career and has been a mentor to young lawyers. He was appointed King's Counsel in 2019.

Justice Doyle was an elected member of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and President of the Vancouver Bar Association. He enjoys a variety of sports and has been very active in his community, including as a long-time volunteer and supporter of youth athletics.

Justice Doyle lives in Vancouver with his wife Nicole, and he is the proud father of two children.

Justice Kevin D. Loo, K.C., was born and raised in Vancouver. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto. He was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1994.

Justice Loo served as law clerk to Justices Gibbs, Toy and Hinds of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. He articled at McCarthy Tetrault, and after being called to the British Columbia Bar in 1994 joined Nathanson Schachter and Thompson LLP. He became a partner of that firm in 2001 and was appointed King's Counsel in 2021. He practised in the areas of commercial litigation, and bankruptcy and insolvency. He regularly appeared as counsel in the B.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, and also appeared in the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories.

Justice Loo has been a frequent contributor to continuing legal education, serving as a regular instructor in the trial advocacy course at the Allard School of Law and as a speaker for CLEBC. He is the author of numerous written publications.

Justice Loo lives with his wife Sandra in North Vancouver. When not practising law, he enjoys cooking, travelling, playing ball hockey and spending time outside hiking, skiing and kayaking. He is proud to recognize, as an early influence in his legal career, his great-uncle Andrew Joe, who in 1953 was the first Chinese-Canadian called to the Bar in British Columbia.

Justice Anita Chan was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Vancouver with her family when she was eight years old. She initially attended English as a Second Language classes in elementary school, and she graduated from Gladstone Secondary School in East Vancouver. She studied journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa, where she was active in the university newspaper and co-hosted a weekly radio show with the Asian students association.

After obtaining her Bachelor of Journalism degree, Justice Chan worked as a newspaper reporter in Owen Sound and London, Ontario. She graduated from law school at the University of British Columbia in 1992. She served as a law clerk at the B.C. Court of Appeal, then completed her articles at Russell and DuMoulin. She joined the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in 1995, shortly after her call to the bar, and has spent the last 27 years as a prosecutor.

While Justice Chan has appeared in all levels of court in B.C., her practice as General Counsel focused on complex and lengthy organized crime trials involving challenges to multiple search warrants and wiretaps. She has worked on a variety of files in the area of drugs, firearms, proceeds of crime, extradition, income tax fraud, national security, regulatory offences and criminal organizations. She has conducted lengthy jury and judge-alone trials throughout B.C. and Alberta.

Justice Chan lives in Burnaby with her husband and three children, and she enjoys annual vacations with her extended family.

Quick facts

• At the Superior Court level, more than 565 judges have been appointed 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.
  
  
• The Government of Canada is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 provides 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.
  
  
• 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

media may contact: Chantalle Aubertin, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Justice, 613-992-6568, [e-mail]; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [e-mail]