DayFR Euro

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

August 29, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada

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 result in the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Bhavneet K. Bhanguan assistant Crown attorney with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General in Barrie, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Newmarket. Justice Bhangu replaces Justice J. Dawe (Newmarket), who was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario on November 3, 2023.

Jasminka Kalajdzica professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Windsor. Justice Kalajdzic replaces Justice RM Pomerance (Windsor), who was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario on July 19, 2024.

Jane O. Dietricha partner at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP in Toronto, is appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. Justice Dietrich replaces Justice D. Wilson (Toronto), who was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario on April 30, 2024.

Citation

“I wish Justices Bhangu, Kalajdzic and Dietrich every success in their new roles. I am confident that they will serve the people of Ontario well as members of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.”

The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biographies

La juge Bhavneet K. Bhangu was born into a Sikh family in Punjab, India. She immigrated to Canada in 1974 as a young child. Her family settled in Vancouver, allowing her to attend school in the diverse and ethnically rich neighbourhood of South Vancouver. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of British Columbia, she attended Osgoode Hall Law School, graduating in 1992. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1994.

Justice Bhangu has been an Assistant Crown Attorney since 1996. She has worked in the Crown Attorneys’ offices in Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Barrie, where she spent the last 24 years. Following her publication and her tenure as Crown Counsel with the Ministry of Labour, she became interested in criminal law and Criminal Code prosecutions.

Justice Bhangu has had the opportunity and privilege of mentoring young lawyers over the past two decades. She has also served the Barrie community by coaching high school students in the Simcoe County Moot Court Competitions. In addition to her duties as a prosecutor, she has dedicated herself to training Simcoe County Police, several Ontario Provincial Police detachments and the Barrie Police Service. Her passion for the law is rooted in her pro bono work within her Punjabi Sikh community working with women who are victims of domestic violence and with exploited farm workers in the Fraser Valley.

Justice Bhangu lives in Barrie with her wonderful husband and is a devoted daughter, sister and aunt to her family in Vancouver. She enjoys travelling with her husband and devoting time to her other passion: cooking for family and friends in British Columbia and Ontario.

La juge Jasminka Kalajdzic was born and raised in Windsor. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and French Literature from the University of Ottawa in 1992, and a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1995 and 2009, respectively. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1997.

Justice Kalajdzic spent twelve years in private practice as a litigator; first at Torys and then at Sutts Strosberg LLP. She joined the University of Windsor Faculty of Law in 2009, where she was promoted to full professor. She has taught evidence law, class actions, access to justice and legal ethics at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. She has also served as Associate Dean and Head of the Advocacy and Trial Advocacy Program. She is the founder and director of the Class Action Clinic, the world’s first practical course to focus on the needs and interests of class members.

Justice Kalajdzic has published widely, including Class Actions in Canada: The Promise and Reality of Access to Justice (2018) and over fifty articles and book chapters. She was co-principal investigator and co-author of the Law Commission of Ontario’s Report on Class Actions (2019). She has been a frequent speaker at expert legal conferences and ongoing legal and judicial education seminars. In 2023, she was elected a Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, where she also served as an adjudicator on the Law Society Tribunal.

Judge Jane O. Dietrich received her law degree from the University of Toronto in 2003 after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo in 1998. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 2004.

Justice Dietrich began her legal career and became a partner at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP in Toronto. For the past ten years, she has been a partner at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP in Toronto, where her practice focused on insolvency, restructuring and related commercial litigation.

Justice Dietrich became a member of INSOL International in 2010 and has previously served on its Board of Directors. She was a member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada and the International Insolvency Institute. She regularly contributed to ongoing professional development programs and was an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where she taught bankruptcy law. She has been recognized by Chambers, Benchmark Litigation, Best Lawyers in Canada, Lexpert and IFLR1000.

Judge Dietrich is grateful for the continued support of her husband, Richard, and their two wonderful children.

-

أخبار متعلقة :