Under the new judicial application process introduced by the Minister of Justice on October 20, 2016, any interested and qualified Canadian lawyer or judge may apply for federal judicial appointment by completing a questionnaire. The questionnaires are then used by the Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada to review candidates and submit a list of "highly recommended" and "recommended" candidates for consideration by the Minister of Justice. Candidates are advised that parts of their questionnaire may be made available to the public, with their consent, should they be appointed to the bench. The information is published as it was submitted by the candidates at the time they applied, subject to editing where necessary for privacy reasons.
Questionnaire for Judicial Appointment
Part 5 - Language proficiency
Please note that in addition to the answers to the questions set out below, you may be assessed as to your level of language proficiency in Canada's two official languages.
Without further training, are you able to read and understand court materials in:
- English: Yes
- French: Yes
Without further training, are you able to discuss legal matters with your colleagues in:
- English: Yes
- French: No
Without further training, are you able to converse with counsel in court in:
- English: Yes
- French: No
Without further training, are you able to understand oral submission in court in:
- English: Yes
- French: No
If you have answered yes to all four questions above, for both English and French, please answer the additional two questions below:
Without further training, are you able to write decisions in both French and English? *
Without further training, are you able to conduct hearings in both French and English? *
*Please note that the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs conducts random verifications and assessments of candidates' language proficiency as stated in their questionnaire.
Part 6 - Education
Name of Institutions, Years Attended, Degree/Diploma and Year Obtained:
University of Toronto, 1988-1990 (Arts and Sciences. Transferred to University of Victoria)
University of Victoria, 1990-1994, Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) obtained 1994
University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, 1994-1997, LL.B. obtained 1997
Osgoode Hall Law School, 2014-2018, LL.M. (Specialization in Constitutional Law) obtained 2018
Continuing Education (past 5-10 years):
June 2014, Legislative Drafting and Statutory Interpretation, Department of Justice, Ottawa
Honours and Awards:
2014. Appointed Senior Counsel in Merit Competition in Legal Services Branch
2008. Granted Merit Appointment to Legal Counsel, Level 3
2007. City of Victoria. Mayor's Award
Part 7 - Professional and employment history
Please include a chronology of work experience, starting with the most recent and showing employers' names and dates of employment.
Legal Work History:
January 2016 - present
Senior Counsel, Constitutional Law (first in Constitutional and Administrative Law Group, now Litigation Group)
Legal Services Branch, Ministry of Attorney General. Government of British Columbia
In this role, I provide constitutional opinions to government, primarily in relation to division of powers, judicial independence and the Charter of Rights. I have also represented the Attorney General in constitutional matters at all levels of court.
May 2013 - January 2016
Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel
Legal Services Branch, Ministry of Attorney General
My responsibilities included drafting bills, orders-in-council and regulations, advising on whether regulations authorized by underlying statute, providing advice on parliamentary law and practice.
February 2012 - May 2013
Senior Legal Counsel, Civil Litigation Group
Legal Services Branch, Ministry of Attorney General
In this role I represented the Province at all levels of court and in administrative tribunals and commercial arbitration.
September 2007- February 2012
Team Leader, Civil Forfeiture Team, Civil Litigation Group
In this role, I led a team of approximately a dozen lawyers and support staff, providing legal services to the Civil Forfeiture Office.
Aug. 1999 - Sep. 2007
Legal Counsel, Civil Litigation Group
Legal Services Branch, Ministry of Attorney General
Represented the Province at all levels of court, and in front of the Environmental Appeal Board, Forest Appeals Commission, BC Human Rights Tribunal, Employment Standards Tribunal and commercial arbitration. I specialized at different times in contaminated sites litigation and advice, stumpage and forestry litigation and pension and post-retirement benefits litigation but also worked on tort cases involving historic sexual abuse, highway design and constructions and employment standards.
June 1, 1999 - Aug. 26, 1999
Lawyer, Askew Fiorillo & Glavin (Vancouver)
I assisted in litigation in courts, tribunals and before labour arbitrators on behalf of unions and professional associations.
June 1997 - Fall 1998
Articled Student, Sack Goldblatt Mitchell (Toronto)
I worked on litigation and opinion work, involving collective agreements, human rights law, constitutional law, civil actions against government and pension law.
April-September 1996 (full-time), September 1995- May 1997 (part-time)
Student-at-Law, Downtown Legal Services (Toronto)
I represented eligible individuals in summary conviction prosecutions and in civil and administrative proceedings under the supervision of volunteer lawyers and clinic directors.
Non-Legal Work History:
I have been employed as a student-at-law, articled student or lawyer since the summer of 1996. Before that, 1 worked as a cab driver, pizza delivery driver, pedicab operator and telemarketer.
Other Activities and Memberships:
List all bar associations, legal or judicial-related committees of which you are or have been a member and give the titles and dates of any offices which you have held in such groups.
British Columbia Government Lawyers Association (formerly Legal Services Branch Lawyers Association)
Professional Standards Committee, Legal Services Branch (Co-Chair) 2018-2019
Professional Development Committee, Legal Services Branch (Co-Chair) 2013-2018
Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch, Constitutional and Civil Liberties Subgroup 2017
Pro Bono Activities:
As a practical matter, the pro bono opportunities available to government lawyers are limited by the broad understanding of potential conflict adopted as a matter of policy. I have provided pro bono legal assistance to other parents of internationally adopted children whose birth certificates provided erroneous ages in obtaining declarations of age and dealing with school districts and other officials.
Teaching and Continuing Education:
List all legal or judicial educational organizations and activities you have been involved with (e.g. teaching course at a Law Faculty, bar association, National Judicial Institute, Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, etc.
January- April 2021 and September-December 2021. Thompson Rivers University, Faculty of Law LAWF 3780, "Canadian Constitution: Framework and Federalism". This is an upper year seminar on topics involving the principles of Canadian constitutional law, other than the rights-conferring provisions, with a focus on the Constitution Act, 1867.
I was co-chair of the Attorney General's Professional Development Committee from 2012 to 2018. In this role, I helped organize and deliver professional development to legal counsel, articling students, paralegals and other law-adjacent professionals working for government. I have continued to make presentations to legal counsel, articling students and paralegals since then.
Community and Civic Activities:
List all organizations of which you are a member and any offices held with dates.
I have been President of the BC Government Lawyers Association since September 2019. 1 have served in various executive roles in that organization since 2004 (Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary at different times).
