Ontario Judicial Appointments Announced

OTTAWA, June 7, 2013 – 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 Wendy M. Matheson, a lawyer with Torys LLP in Toronto, is appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Toronto) to replace Mr. Justice F.N. Marrocco, who was appointed Associate Chief Justice.

Madam Justice Matheson received a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo in 1979 and a Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University in 1986. She was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1988.

Madam Justice Matheson has practised with Torys LLP since 1988, serving as the Litigation Department Coordinator from 1996 to 1998. Her practice focused on civil litigation and administrative law, including technology and class action matters. She also served as legal counsel for the Discipline Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario from 1988 to 1999.

Madam Justice Matheson was an Adjunct Professor and lead instructor in intellectual property law at Osgoode Hall Law School. She is a past director of The Advocates’ Society and the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History. In 2011, she was elected Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada. She is a regular speaker and contributor to continuing legal education programs for the Law Society of Upper Canada, The Advocates’ Society, and the Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations, as well as many other organizations.

The Honourable Ronald M. Laliberté, a Crown attorney with the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario in L’Orignal, is appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Cornwall) to replace Mr. Justice D.R. Aston, who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of April 30, 2013, and whose vacancy was transferred to Cornwall.

Mr. Justice Laliberté received a Bachelor of Social Science in 1983 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1986, both from the University of Ottawa. He was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1988.

Mr. Justice Laliberté has been the Senior Crown Attorney at the Ministry of the Attorney General’s office for Prescott-Russell since 2005 and was Assistant Crown Attorney from 1989 to 2005. His main areas of practice were criminal and constitutional law.

Mr. Justice Laliberté is the chair for several local committees, including the Youth Justice Committee and the Direct Accountability Program in Prescott-Russell. He is a board member of the Prescott-Russell Glengarry and Cornwall Community Correctional Services. He has served as a course lecturer for the Bar Admission Course in Ontario and was co-founder of the French advocacy course for Ontario Crown attorneys. 

These appointments are effective immediately.

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