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

OTTAWA, ON, March 7, 2025 /CNW/ - The Honourable Arif Virani, 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 Heather MacNaughton, a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, is appointed a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia in Vancouver. Justice MacNaughton replaces Justice D.C. Harris, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective January 1, 2025.

Julia E. Lawn, Partner at Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver. Justice Lawn replaces Justice H. MacNaughton (Vancouver) who was elevated to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia effective March 7, 2025. 

Quote

"I wish Justices MacNaughton and Lawn every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the people of British Columbia well as members of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia and the Supreme Court of British Columbia."

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

Biographies

Justice Heather MacNaughton earned her LLB and LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1984 and to the Bar of British Columbia in 2010.

Prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2016, Justice MacNaughton had been a Master at the Supreme Court of British Columbia since 2011. She was Chair of British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal from 2000-2010. She was Chair and Vice-Chair of Ontario Human Rights Board of Inquiry and Chair and Vice-Chair of Ontario Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal from 1995-2000. She practiced at Lang Michener from 1984-1995. Her practice focused on all aspects of commercial litigation, labour, and employment law. She handled cases before all levels of courts and tribunals in Ontario and as a junior before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Justice Julia E. Lawn was born in Brockville, Ontario and grew up in Prescott, Ontario, but has been an adopted British Columbian for most of her adult life. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Trinity College (BA: 1991) and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (LLB: 1997), where she was a Grand Mooter among other honours. She was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1998, after clerking at the British Columbia Supreme Court. 

Justice Lawn was a partner at the Vancouver commercial litigation boutique of Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP for eighteen years, where she specialized in legal research and served in a management capacity. 

Justice Lawn has served as a director on the boards of the British Columbia Law Institute and the Mulgrave Independent School Society. She co-chaired the 2023 Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (CLEBC) conference on Legal Research, focusing on emerging issues around artificial intelligence. She has written articles on injunctions and on section 8 of the Charter, and she is the author of two chapters of Government Liability: Law and Practice (Horsman JA and Morley J, eds).

Justice Lawn is married to Justice David Crerar of the Supreme Court of British Columbia and is the mother of four children.

Quick Facts

• The Government of Canada has appointed more than 860 judges since November 2015. This includes 234 appointments since the Honourable Arif Virani became Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada on July 26, 2023, a pace of appointments that has no precedent in Canadian history. 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 provided 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: Chantalle Aubertin, Deputy Director, Communications, Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, 613-992-6568, [email protected]; Media Relations, Department of Justice Canada, 613-957-4207, [email protected]