The provincial government is embracing the news that four justices have been appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench and funding has been approved for an additional 15 judges.

On Friday, Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announced four judicial appointments for Alberta including:

  • Michele H. Hollins, Q.C. -Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Calgary)
  • William T. deWit, Q.C. - Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Calgary)
  • Ritu Khullar, Q.C. - Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Edmonton)
  • Hon. Marilyn Slawinsky - Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Red Deer)

Alberta’s Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley says she is incredibly excited by the appointments and the new justices will make a huge difference in the lives of people going through the court system.

“(Alberta) hadn’t seen an increase in the number of federally appointed justices since 1996,” said Ganley. “Obviously, we’ve had a significant population increase since then, about 1.4 million people.”

The recent federal budget provided additional reason for optimism for a justice system facing a ‘significant pressure point’ regarding lead times. The budget included funding for 12 new justice positions in Alberta.

Taking into account three previously approved but yet-to-be filled positions as well as Friday’s appointments, the province will eventually have 19 more justices than it did on March 23, 2017. The appointment of judges to the 12 outstanding positions will be completed at the federal government’s discretion and without a firm timeline.

Ganley says there was, and continues to be, significant urgency to increase the number of justices in Alberta. The Supreme Court’s ‘Jordan decision’ that established specific timelines for criminal trials further complicated an overworked system by introducing the possibility that cases could be stayed and accused parties being allowed to walk free over delays that preventing a trial from being heard ‘within a reasonable time’.

“I have been advocating for additional positions to be appointed to and to be created since I got into office. That urgency has always existed,” explained Ganley. “Jordan has made that urgency more apparent, shall we say, by placing those presumptive timelines. There is absolutely urgency and we’ll continue to work and advocate with our federal counterparts.”

Ganley says the newly appointed justices will help alleviate the backlog in criminal cases, civil disputes and family disputes in Alberta.