ONTARIO JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA, October 2, 2013 – The Honourable Peter MacKay, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Central Nova, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments:

The Honourable Katherine M. van Rensburg, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ( Brampton), is appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario to replace Mr. Justice E.W. Ducharme, who passed away on June 2, 2013.

Madam Justice van Rensburg received a Bachelor of Arts from Toronto University in 1978 and a Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University in 1981. She received a Master of Laws from Cambridge University in 1986. She was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1983.

Madam Justice van Rensburg was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2006. Prior to her appointment, she was a partner in the Toronto office of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP where her main areas of practice were environmental law, civil litigation, and commercial litigation. She was certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in civil litigation and environmental law in 2002.

The Honourable C. William Hourigan, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Milton), is appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario to replace Madam Justice A.H. Hoy, who was appointed Associate Chief Justice of Ontario on June 6, 2013.

Mr. Justice Hourigan received a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from McGill University in 1987, and a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1990. He was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1992.

Mr. Justice Hourigan was appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2009. Prior to his appointment, he had practiced with Fasken Martineau LLP since 1992. His practice focussed on commercial litigation.

Mr. Justice Hourigan is a former member of the Ontario Bar Association and The Advocates Society.

The Honourable Michelle K. Fuerst, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Newmarket), is appointed Regional Senior Judge of the Central East Region (Newmarket) of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, to replace Mr. Justice M.F. Brown, who resigned as Regional Senior Judge effective April 30, 2013.

Madam Justice Fuerst was appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2002. Prior to her appointment, she was a partner with Gold & Fuerst where her main area of practice was criminal law.

Madam Justice Fuerst received a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1979 and was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1981.

Madam Justice Fuerst is a past president of both the Canadian Bar Association (Ontario) and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association (Ontario). She is co-chair of the Federation of Law Societies’ annual National Criminal Law Program, a co-author of The Annotated Tremeear’s Criminal Code, a co-author of the third edition of The Law of Evidence in Canada, and a co-author of The Trial of Sexual Offence Cases. She is a member of the Education Committee for the Superior Court of Justice, and a Director of the Ontario Superior Court Judges’ Association. She is currently Senior Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Judges’ Forum.

The Honourable Michael F. Brown, Regional Senior Judge for the Central East Region of the Superior Court of Justice, is appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Newmarket), to replace Madam Justice M.K. Fuerst, who was appointed Regional Senior Judge of the Central East Region.

Mr. Justice Brown was appointed Regional Senior Judge of the Central East Region in 2007. Prior to his appointment in 2004 as a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, he had been the Executive Legal Officer to the Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice since 2000. His main practice area was criminal law.

Mr. Justice Brown is a past executive assistant and senior policy advisor to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Ontario. He also served as senior counsel for discipline at the Law Society of Upper Canada, and is a past Crown counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario.

The Honourable Peter A. Douglas, a lawyer with Stewart Esten in Barrie, is appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Barrie), to replace Madam Justice M.P. Eberhard, who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of July 11, 2013.

Mr. Justice Douglas received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor Law School and was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1986. He has practised with the firm of Stewart Esten since 1988, and was an associate lawyer with the firm Brock and Brock from 1986 to 1988 where his main areas of practise were family law, civil litigation and criminal law.

Mr. Justice Douglas has served as a deputy judge of the Small Claims Court for the Central East Region since 1997. He has been a member of the Best Practices Committee since 2005 and the Community Liaison Committee since 1998, both of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. He has also been a member of the Simcoe County Family Law Association and the Criminal Lawyers Association since 1993, as well as treasurer of the Simcoe County Law Association from 1996 to 2000. He was the founding chair of the New Path Foundation (formerly Thompson Centre Community Foundation) and has been a board member since 1991.

The Honourable Marc A. Garson, a Crown counsel with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General in London, is appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (London), to replace Mr. Justice J.A. Desotti, who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of February 5, 2013, and whose vacancy was transferred to London.

Mr. Justice Garson received a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) in 1984 from Colby College in Maine, U.S.A. He received a Bachelor of Laws and a Masters of Business Administration from Dalhousie University in 1988. He was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1990 and is a past member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.

Mr. Justice Garson has been the Director of Crown Operations—West Region Criminal Division, for the Ministry of the Attorney General since 1997. He was an acting Crown attorney in Parry Sound and Manitoulin Island from 1994 to 1996 and an assistant Crown attorney in Sudbury from 1991 to 1994. His main area of practice was criminal law.

These appointments are effective immediately.

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