ONTARIO JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA, October 5, 2012 - The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments:

The Honourable Antonio Skarica, a Crown attorney with the Ministry of the Attorney General in Hamilton, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in Brampton, to replace Mr. Justice D.L. Corbett who was transferred to Toronto to replace Madam Justice S.E. Pepall, who was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal on April 5, 2012.

Mr. Justice Skarica attended McMaster University, where he completed two years of a commerce degree before completing a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1977. He was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1979.

Mr. Justice Skarica has been an assistant Crown attorney in Hamilton and the Central South Region at several points throughout his career – from 1983 to 1995, from 2000 to 2007 and from 2010 to the present. Additionally, he was counsel with Justice Prosecutions in Toronto from 2007 to 2009 and acting Crown attorney in Cayuga from 2000 to 2001. He was a sole practitioner from 1982 to 1983 and permanent duty counsel from 1979 to 1982. His main area of practice was criminal law.

The Honourable E. Ria Tzimas, a Crown attorney with the Ministry of the Attorney General in Toronto, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in Brampton, to replace Mr. Justice M.H. Tulloch, who was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal on June 21, 2012.

Madam Justice Tzimas received a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1988. She received a Bachelor of Laws in 1991 from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Master of Law in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution in 1999. She was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1993.

Madam Justice Tzimas has been counsel with the Crown Law Office since 1998. She was an associate with Sotos, Karvanis in Toronto from 1993 to 1998. Her main areas of practice were Aboriginal law, civil litigation and dispute resolution.

Madam Justice Tzimas has been a member of the Advocates Society since 2006 and the Hellenic Canadian Lawyers Association since 1992. She had been an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School since 2009. She is the author of numerous publications. Since 2010, she has been the chair of the board of “VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto.”

This appointment is effective immediately.

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