Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that justice Mary Moreau will be Canada’s next Supreme Court justice on Thursday.
A francophone born in Edmonton, Moreau is the Chief Justice for Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench.
“I am confident that her impressive judicial career and dedication to fairness and excellence will make Chief Justice Moreau an invaluable addition to our country’s highest court,” said Trudeau in a statement.
Two of the nine seats on the Supreme Court are to be reserved for judges from Western Canada and Moreau was selected to replace Brown as part of that requirement. Candidates are also required to be bilingual.
Moreau was the first woman to be appointed to serve as the chief justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta in 2017 and has previously served on the court since 1994.
She was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics from 2014 to 2017 and has been actively involved in judicial education.
Prior to becoming a judge, Moreau worked as a lawyer in Edmonton, focusing on criminal and constitutional law as well as civil litigation.
Moreau has presided over numerous bilingual and French trials and is also a co-founder of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta.
Dean of law at the University of Calgary Ian Holloway embraced the appointment, calling Moreau “a wonderful jurist who enjoys the respect of everyone who knows her.”
“She works extremely hard, and she is unfailingly courteous to everyone who appears before her,” said Holloway. “Plus, she is a francophone, which will be a tremendous asset for her new job. So I’m delighted.”
Moreau’s predecessor Russell Brown resigned in June 2023 after he faced a claim of misconduct related to an incident at a resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Brown had been on leave for months after reports came to light that he’d been in some altercation with other patrons at an upscale resort in January 2023.
Brown denies the allegations.
There are several differing accounts as to what occurred during the altercation. Some say that Brown had been in a fight with Jon Crump, a U.S. marine veteran who was staying at the resort with a group of friends.
Crump claims that Brown harassed him and his company while under the influence of alcohol before following them back to their hotel rooms. A brief brawl broke out wherein Crump punched Brown for refusing to leave, according to CBC News.
Crump later reported Brown to the Canadian Judicial Council (CJC).
Brown’s account alleges that Crump punched him inexplicably and that his version of the events are false.
Initially, Brown had high hopes that the CJC review into the altercation would be “dispensed with quickly and would not significantly impact the court’s business.”
However, once it became apparent that the probe would likely continue into 2024, he retired, subsequently ending the CJC probe.
Members of the House of Commons are expected to hold a hearing in the lead up to Morneau taking her seat on the Supreme Court bench. Justice Minister and Attorney General Arif Virani will speak on the reasons for her selection.
The hearing will be followed by members of Parliament and senators who sit on the House and Senate Justice committees asking Moreau a series of questions to examine her views and experience.
Justice Moreau’s appointment marks the sixth Supreme Court Justice appointed by Trudeau since he took office in 2015.
