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

OTTAWA, ON, June 21, 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 Mohammed M. Rahman, a Judge of the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Brampton. Justice Rahman fills one of the two remaining positions authorized further to the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1.

Ranjan K. Agarwal, Partner at Bennett Jones in Toronto, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Brampton. Justice Agarwal replaces Justice T.A. Bielby (Brampton), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective December 29, 2021.

Quote

 "I wish Justices Rahman and Agarwal every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the people of Ontario well as members of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario."

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

Biographies

Justice Mohammed M. Rahman graduated with a B.A. from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1993 and an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1996. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1998.

Justice Rahman spent over 18 years working as a federal prosecutor with the Department of Justice Canada and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. During his career as a prosecutor, he appeared at all levels of court in Ontario, conducting trials and appeals. His prosecution work included drug cases and extradition and mutual legal assistance matters. In early 2016, he joined the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General's Crown Law Office – Criminal, where his practice focused on appeals. Justice Rahman was appointed to Ontario Court of Justice (Brampton) in December 2016.

Justice Rahman has devoted much of his time outside of work to teaching and mentoring law students and lawyers. He was on the adjunct faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he taught trial advocacy to upper-year law students and coached the law school's trial advocacy team. He has also taught trial advocacy to lawyers through Osgoode Hall's Professional Development Program, and was an instructor at the University of Notre Dame's Trial Advocacy Workshop. He has participated as a panelist or presenter at numerous continuing legal education programs for various organizations including the Advocates' Society and the Law Society of Ontario. In 2013, Justice Rahman received the Mentor of the Year award from Osgoode Hall's Alumni Association.

Justice Ranjan K. Agarwal was born in Nelson, B.C., and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. He has lived in Toronto since graduating from the Joint LL.B./M.A. (International Affairs) program at the University of Ottawa and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, in 2003. He also has a B.A. (Hons) from the University of Alberta and an LL.M. (Constitutional Law) from Osgoode Hall Law School. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2004 and the Bar of Saskatchewan in 2019.

Justice Agarwal was a partner at Bennett Jones LLP. His practice focused on class actions, commercial litigation, employment and human rights disputes, and public and constitutional law. He has appeared before courts and tribunals across Canada, including 19 appeals at the Supreme Court of Canada. He began his career as an articling student and associate at Hicks Morley LLP.

Justice Agarwal is a past president of the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto, one of the largest and most diverse bar associations in North America. He was elected to the executive of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) in 2017 and recently served as First Vice President. He was the first South Asian to serve as an OBA officer. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto and is a co-author of Class Actions Law and Practice. In 2020, The Advocates' Society awarded him the Eric Hoaken Excellence in Mentoring Award for his commitment to training a new generation of barristers. He was also a recipient of the CBA's Young Lawyers Forum Pro Bono Award for his dedication to pro bono service.

Justice Agarwal enjoys family movie nights with his spouse, Sunita, and daughters, Asha and Diya, running, planning family vacations, and reading South Asian fiction.

Quick facts

• At the Superior Court level, more than 545 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, LGBTQ2+, 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

Contacts: For more information, media may contact: Chantalle 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]