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

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 27, 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 Christian Immer, a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal, is appointed a puisne Judge of the Court of Appeal of Quebec in Montréal. Justice Immer replaces Justice M. Schrager (Montréal), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective March 2, 2024.

The Honourable Alain Trudel, a Judge of the Court of Québec in Trois-Rivières, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec in Shawinigan. Justice Trudel replaces Justice E. Parent (Shawinigan), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective September 1, 2024.

Robert Leckey, Dean at the Faculty of Law of McGill University in Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec in Montréal. Justice Leckey replaces Justice C. Immer (Montréal), who was elevated to the Court of Appeal of Quebec effective January 23, 2025

Quote

"I wish Justices Immer, Trudel, and Leckey every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve Quebecers well as members of the Court of Appeal of Quebec and the Superior Court of Quebec."

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

Biographies

Justice Christian Immer received a Bachelor of Civil and Common Law from McGill University (1991) as well as a Bachelor in Secondary Education in History and Geography from the Université du Québec à Montréal (2008). He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1992.

Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court of Quebec in 2019, he had participated in the foundation of Sheahan LLP in 2011 and worked there until he was appointed to represent institutional, corporate and individual clients in civil and criminal liability lawsuits, especially in environmental and employment law. He had done his internship and worked as a commercial litigation and employment lawyer with Woods LLP until 2005. He has represented clients before the Superior Court and Court of Appeal of Quebec, the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as before various administrative tribunals.

Justice Alain Trudel is originally from Trois-Rivières. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from Université Laval and was called to the Barreau du Québec in 1992.

Justice Trudel was appointed to the Court of Québec in Trois-Rivières in 2009. He served in the Civil Division, as well as in the Administrative and Appeal Division of the Court of Québec. He has provided training to his colleagues—particularly in settlement conferences and in both civil and administrative law. He also sat on the Executive of the Conférence des juges de la Cour du Québec for over six years. Prior to his appointment at the Court of Québec, he was a partner at Lajoie, Beaudoin, Héon in Trois-Rivières, where he practised mainly in civil and commercial litigation, business law, and insurance.

Justice Trudel was very active in the Trois-Rivières community. He worked for a number of socio-economic, educational, and charitable organizations. Among others, he chaired the boards of directors of the Fondation du Centre hospitalier régional de Trois-Rivières and the Chambre de commerce et d'industries de Trois-Rivières; he represented the latter on the board of the Alliance des Chambres de commerce de la Mauricie. He also sat on the board of directors of the Commission des services juridiques for several years.

Married to Anne-Marie Charette since 1996, Justice Trudel and his wife are the proud parents of Benjamin, Frédérique, and Philippe.

Justice Robert Leckey was raised in Ontario and earned bachelor's degrees in civil law and common law from McGill University. He completed his doctorate at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law as a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scholar. A former clerk to Justice Michel Bastarache at the Supreme Court of Canada, he was a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the Barreau du Québec.

Justice Leckey is fluently bilingual. He had been Samuel Gale Professor and dean of McGill's Faculty of Law since 2016. A professor there from 2006, he taught and researched chiefly in family law and constitutional law, also publishing on administrative law and language rights. He was director of the Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law from 2014 to 2016. He has received the Prix de la Fondation du Barreau du Québec, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers' Scholarly Paper Prize, the Canada Prize of the International Academy of Comparative Law, the John W. Durnford Teaching Excellence Award, and the president of McGill's Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Change-Maker Prize for public engagement. An Advocatus Emeritus of the Barreau du Québec, he received the Hero Award of the Sexual and Gender Diversity Alliance Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

Justice Leckey was a former chair of Egale Canada's Legal Issues Committee and past president of the Council of Canadian Law Deans. He participated often in continuing education for lawyers and judges.

Justice Leckey and his husband, choreographer José Navas, share their home with two dogs.

Quick Facts

• The Government of Canada has appointed more than 825 judges since November 2015. This includes 202 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