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

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 11, 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 Jean-Louis Lemay, a Judge of the Provincial Court of Quebec, is appointed a puisne Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Québec. Justice Lemay replaces Justice A. Soldevilla (Québec), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective June 13, 2022.

Renée Thériault, Executive Legal Officer at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa, is appointed a puisne Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Thériault replaces replaces Justice D. Platts (Montréal), who resigned effective February 18, 2022.

Janet Michelin, Partner at IMK LLP in Westmount, is appointed a puisne Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Michelin replaces Justice L. Arcand (Montréal), who resigned effective April 22, 2022.

Catherine Piché, Professor of law and Vice-Dean of the Law Faculty of the Université de Montréal, is appointed a puisne Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Piché replaces Justice M.D. Perrault (Montréal), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective April 25, 2022.

David E. Roberge, Partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Montréal, is appointed a puisne Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Roberge replaces Justice M. St-Pierre (Montréal), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective May 26, 2022.

Quote

"I wish Justices Lemay, Thériault, Michelin, Piché, and Roberge every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the people of Québec well as members of the Superior Court."

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

Biographies

Justice Jean-Louis Lemay obtained his Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Ottawa in 1993 and was called to the Barreau du Québec in 1994.

Justice Lemay has practised criminal and penal law in private practice throughout his career. He began with Grenier, Lineau, Petit and then co-founded his own firm of Corriveau, Lemay, Gauthier. On March 25, 2010, Justice Lemay was appointed a Judge of the Court of Quebec, Criminal and Penal Division for the district of Québec. He became an Associate Coordinating Judge of the Criminal and Penal Division in 2013, and then a Coordinating Judge in the Québec Chaudière Appalaches region from April 2017 to September 2022.

Justice Lemay has been significantly involved with his professional order throughout his years of practice. Among other things, he was president of the Jeune Barreau du Québec in 2003 and became bâtonnier with the Barreau de Québec in 2006. He also taught at the École du Barreau. He was active in various committees of the Barreau du Québec, serving as a member of the criminal law committee, chair of the private practice committee and chair of the Barreau convention.

He shares his life with his spouse, Sophie Gauthier, and their daughter Justine.

Justice Renée Thériault holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Ottawa, as well as degrees in Civil Law and Common Law from McGill University. She also holds a Master's degree in Law from the London School of Economics.

Before her call to the Québec Bar in 1994, Justice Thériault clerked for the Honourable Claire L'Heureux-Dubé at the Supreme Court of Canada. She practised litigation and international arbitration in Canada and abroad, including with the law firm of Shearman & Sterling in Paris and with Norton Rose Fulbright in Ottawa and Montréal. As of 2012, she served as Legal Counsel at the Supreme Court, and in 2018 became the Executive Legal Officer to the Right Honourable Richard Wagner, P.C., Chief Justice of Canada. In this capacity, she notably acted as principal advisor to the Chief Justice regarding the administration of the Court, as well as the Canadian Judicial Council, the National Judicial Institute, and the Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19.

Justice Thériault has been awarded several scholarships and prizes, notably for her involvement with legal aid. In addition, she has appeared as a conference speaker and has published various papers on dispute resolution. She has also piloted various public engagement initiatives regarding the justice system.

Justice Thériault is a proud Acadian native, and with her husband, shares the pride and joy of being the mother of two remarkable children currently pursuing their studies in Montréal.

Justice Janet Michelin was born and raised in Montréal. She obtained her BCL and LL.B. degrees from the McGill Faculty of Law in 1996 after previously graduating from McGill University in 1992 with a BA in English Literature. She was called to the Barreau du Québec in 1997. 

Justice Michelin began her litigation practice at Colin Irving & Associates (now IMK LLP) in 1997 and became a partner there in 2005. Her practice focused on trust and estate litigation and employment law. She also regularly represented clients in general civil and commercial matters before the Superior Court and the Quebec Court of Appeal.

Justice Michelin was a co-lecturer in Trial Advocacy at the McGill Faculty of Law from 2016 to 2022. She was a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the Wills, Estates and Trusts Section of the Canadian Bar Association, Quebec Branch. She was president of that committee in 2018-2019.

Justice Michelin is an avid runner and skier. She and her spouse are the proud parents of two teenage boys.

Justice Catherine Piché holds a Doctorate from McGill University, a Master's from New York University, and Bachelor's degrees in civil law and common law from the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University.

Prior to her appointment to the Superior Court, Justice Piché was a Professor and Vice-Dean of research and international affairs in the Law Faculty of the Université de Montréal. During her academic career, she was Scientific Director of the Institut québécois de réforme du droit et de la justice and Director of the Class Actions Lab. Previously, she was a commercial litigation lawyer with national law firms in New York and Montréal for several years and law clerk with what was then known as the Federal Court of Canada, Appeal Division.

Specializing in civil proceedings and evidence, comparative law and class action law, Justice Piché was involved in writing several books, including La preuve civile, le Code civil du Québec—Annotations et commentaires (Yvon Blais) and The Civil Litigation Process (Emond Montgomery Publications), and numerous articles. She was actively involved as a researcher in the reform of class action law in Ontario and Quebec. She has also spoken at many conferences abroad and has been a visiting professor at several European universities. In recent years, she was invited to sit on the rules committee of the Federal Court and was elected a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Procedural Law.

Justice David E. Roberge earned a Bachelor of Civil Law and Common Law from McGill University in 2001. He was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 2003 and was recognized as Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) in 2022.

Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court, Justice Roberge was a partner at McCarthy Tétrault where he practised in the litigation group. His practice focused on professional liability, health law, disciplinary law, class actions and environmental law. He was also an accredited mediator.

During his career as a lawyer, Justice Roberge was actively involved in several committees of the Barreau du Québec, the Bar of Montreal and the Canadian Bar Association, particularly in matters of professional ethics. He has been strongly committed to legal education, having published articles and lectured on such topics as expert evidence, civil procedure and negotiation techniques. On the social front, Justice Roberge has volunteered to promote equality and inclusion, by participating in initiatives of Lawyers Without Borders in Haiti and for the 2SLGBTQI+ communities. His outstanding pro bono contributions were recognized when he received the 2021 Paris-Quebec Prize, awarded jointly by Justice Pro Bono and Barreau de Paris Solidarité.

Justice Roberge speaks French, English and Italian. He lives in Montreal with his spouse, a professor of literature.

Quick facts

• At the Superior Court level, more than 560 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

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]