Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces a judicial appointment in Nunavut

OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment 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.

Mia Manocchio, Justice of the Peace at the Government of Nunavut in Iqaluit, is appointed a Judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice. Justice Manocchio fills the newly created position authorized further to the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1.

Quote

"I wish Justice Manocchio every success as she takes on her new role. I am confident she will serve the people of Nunavut well as a member of the Nunavut Court of Justice."

—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biography

Justice Mia Manocchio obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the Université de Sherbrooke in 2002 and was admitted to the Quebec bar in 2003.

Judge Manocchio began her legal career at the Centre communautaire de l'Estrie as a lawyer specializing in criminal law and youth law. In 2005, she went into private practice with Rancourt Fréchette Robitaille (now Fréchette Dingman Tardif) in Sherbrooke, where she continued to represent clients before the courts in several regions of Quebec. Since 2012, in addition to joining the team of Yves Ménard Avocats in Montréal, she had been practising criminal law in Nunavut and decided to move there in 2019. During her first years in the Far North, she worked as a lawyer at the legal aid office in Iqaluit (Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik Legal Services) before being appointed Justice of the Peace in Nunavut in August 2022.

Alongside her practice, Judge Manocchio taught criminal law at the École du Barreau du Québec (2008-2019), as well as a semester in the law program in Iqaluit, Nunavut, in collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan (2020). She has been involved in the legal community for several years with the Association québécois des avocats et avocates de la défense, where she served as president from 2016 to 2019. She was the recipient of the AQAAD Award recognizing excellence in her career path in 2020 and was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Law Society of Nunavut (2020-2022).

Quick Facts

• The Government of Canada has appointed more than 645 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 racialized persons, 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

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