Minister of Justice and Lawyer Common of Canada announces judicial appointments to the Federal Courtroom of Appeal

January 29, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada  

The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Lawyer Standard of Canada, currently declared the subsequent appointments beneath the judicial application course of action set up in 2016. This system emphasizes transparency, merit, and the variety of the Canadian populace, and will continue to be certain the appointment of jurists who meet up with the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

The Honourable Elizabeth Walker, a Judge of the Federal Court, is appointed a Judge of the Federal Courtroom of Enchantment. Justice Walker replaces Justice D.J. Rennie, who elected to come to be a supernumerary choose effective March 6, 2023.

The Honourable Vanessa Rochester, a Decide of the Federal Courtroom, is appointed a Choose of the Federal Court of Appeal. Justice Rochester replaces Justice M. Rivoalen, who was elevated to the situation of Main Justice of Manitoba on May 31, 2023

Quotation

“I would like Justices Walker and Rochester just about every achievement as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve Canadians very well as members of the Federal Courtroom of Enchantment.”

—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Lawyer Standard of Canada

Biographies

Justice Elizabeth Walker was appointed to the Federal Court in 2018. She obtained a Bachelor of Legal guidelines (LL.B.) (Gold Medalist, summa cum laude) from the College of Ottawa in 1986 and a Masters of Legal guidelines (BCL) from Oxford University in 1987. She was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1989.

Justice Walker speaks English and French fluently. She articled and practiced with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto and Ottawa right before joining the Countrywide Funds Commission in 1991 as counsel. She rejoined Osler in 1994 in which her follow centered on corporate securities transactions, commercial and governance problems for Canadian and global purchasers. She was the handling partner of the Ottawa place of work of Osler from 2004 to 2014. She was a quite active member of the company community for 20 many years. She was a recurrent speaker at functions advertising the technological know-how sector in Canada and was a visitor lecturer at the University of Ottawa.

In 2014, Justice Walker was appointed Chair of the RCMP External Overview Committee, a federal administrative tribunal situated in Ottawa. As Chair, her primary concentrate was on administrative legislation, work and labour regulation, and Charter and human legal rights challenges. She guided the Committee as a result of a major changeover time period subsequent the amendment of its mandate in November 2014.

During her career, Justice Walker has been a sturdy proponent of the development of gals in the authorized profession. She has mentored and counselled ladies in all aspects of the profession, informally and as a member of senior administration.

Justice Vanessa Rochester was appointed to the Federal Court in 2021. She is a graduate of McGill University where she earned her B.A. Honors in Anthropology / Archeology, with a emphasis on maritime archeology, and then later on her B.C.L and LL.B.. She acquired both an LL.M. and a Ph.D. in maritime legislation from the College of Cape City, South Africa.

Prior to her appointment to the Federal Courtroom, Justice Rochester practised predominantly in the places of maritime and transportation regulation. She labored with the late Professor William Tetley, a extensively recognised and highly regarded maritime regulation scholar, right before entering non-public follow in the Montreal place of work of Norton Rose Fulbright, where she used most of her profession. She also invested a number of several years practising in London, England, and in Singapore, in which she taken care of elaborate multijurisdictional disputes.

Justice Rochester has been acknowledged as a primary practitioner in maritime and transportation regulation by numerous industry publications, such as Chambers, Lexpert, Legal 500, Finest Attorneys, Who’s Who, and Qualified Guides.

While in exercise, Justice Rochester was a typical speaker and writer on maritime regulation matters and unconscious gender bias. She was the President of the Canadian chapter of the Women’s Worldwide Shipping and delivery and Investing Affiliation, whose mission is to market gender range and equality in the delivery industry. She also served as VP Quebec and chaired quite a few committees of the Canadian Maritime Legislation Association. She sat on the Maritime Legislation Executive and the Federal Court docket Bench and Bar Liaison Committee of the Canadian Bar Association.