January 31, 2019 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Justice Canada
The Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment under the new judicial application process introduced on October 20, 2016. The new process emphasizes transparency, merit, and diversity, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.
The Honourable Jerome A. Tholl, a judge of Her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan, is appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan. He replaces Justice G. Jackson, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective December 15, 2018.
Biography
Appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan in 2013, Justice Jerome A. Tholl was a member of the Court of Queen's Bench Rules Committee, Family Law Rules Committee and Innovation Committee. He has adjudicated a variety of family, civil and criminal law cases, with an emphasis on family law matters.
Prior to his appointment to the judiciary, Justice Tholl spent his entire legal career with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice, first in civil litigation and subsequently in criminal prosecutions.
Taking an unconventional path for his university education, Justice Tholl worked full-time while obtaining his first university degree on a part-time basis. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration, with Distinction, and a Certificate of Computer Science from the University of Regina in 1995. Justice Tholl obtained a professional accounting designation and continues to hold the designation of Certified Management Accountant, Chartered Professional Accountant, non-practising. Justice Tholl graduated with a Juris Doctor, with Great Distinction, from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000 and was awarded the Law Society of Saskatchewan Gold Medal. He earned his LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2008.
As a lawyer, Justice Tholl was actively involved with the Canadian Bar Association, acting as Chair of the Public Law Section, Criminal Law Section and the Mid-Winter Meeting Education Committee and speaking at a variety of seminars. In addition to teaching business law at the University of Regina from 2000 to 2009, he volunteered his time as Chair of the Saskatchewan Crown Counsel Association and as the Law Society of Saskatchewan representative on the University of Regina Senate.
Quick facts
Since 2016, the Government of Canada has made over 250 judicial appointments.
Canada's judiciary is internationally renowned and respected for its independence and diversity. In October 2016, the government introduced important reforms to the appointments process, aimed at strengthening the selection process. Of the individuals appointed under the new process, over half are women, eight are Indigenous, 20 identify as visible minorities, 13 identify as LGBTQ2, and three identify as persons with disabilities.
The Government of Canada is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 will provide funding of $77.2 million over four years to support the expansion of unified family courts, beginning in 2019-2020. This investment in the family justice system will create 39 new judicial positions in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
In addition, Budget 2018 provided funding for a further seven judicial positions in Saskatchewan and Ontario, at a cost of $17.1 million over five years.
The funding outlined in Budget 2018 comes on top of resources allocated under Budget 2017, which created 28 new judicial positions across the country.
In addition, the Government will invest $6 million over two years, beginning in 2018-2019, to support the judicial discipline process through which allegations of judicial misconduct are investigated. In this way, the Government will ensure that a robust process remains in place to allow Canadians to voice their concerns and submit complaints about judicial conduct to the Canadian Judicial Council and the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs.
Federal judicial appointments are made by the Governor General, acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet and recommendations from the Minister of Justice.
The Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada play a key role in evaluating judicial applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each province and territory represented.
Significant reforms to the role and structure of the Judicial Advisory Committees, aimed at enhancing the independence and transparency of the process, were announced on October 20, 2016. Sixteen Judicial Advisory Committees have been reconstituted to date.
