NOVA SCOTIA JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA, February 6, 2015 – 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 Elizabeth Van den Eynden, a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, is appointed a judge of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to replace Mr. Justice J.W.S. Saunders, who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of December 12, 2014.

Madam Justice Van den Eynden was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in 2013. Prior to her appointment, she was a managing partner with the firm MacIntosh, MacDonnell & MacDonald, where she began practising after being admitted to the Barristers' Society of Nova Scotia in 1988. She received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick in 1987. Her main areas of practice were labour law, employment law, civil litigation, and child protection.

The Honourable C. LouAnn Chiasson, a lawyer with the firm Weldon McInnis in Dartmouth, is appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Family Division, to replace Madam Justice M.D.M. Gass (Halifax), who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of January 20, 2015.

Madam Justice Chiasson received a Bachelor of Law from Dalhousie Law School in 1991 and was admitted to the Barristers' Society of Nova Scotia in 1992. She was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2011. She had been a partner with Weldon McInnis since 2000 and a partner with Chiasson McClure from 1995 to 2000. Previously, she had been a sole practitioner (1994-95) and an associate with Burchell MacAdam & Hayman (1992-94). Her main area of practice was family law.

Madam Justice Chiasson was a representative on various committees of the Canadian Bar Association, Nova Scotia division. She was a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society's Access to Justice working group, as well as the provincial Department of Justice's working groups on the High-Conflict Families Pilot Project and on Developing the Bench and Bar Book. She was an advisor in the area of family law to the Risk and Practice Management Program, Lawyers' Insurance Association of Nova Scotia.

The Honourable Jeffrey T. Hunt, a lawyer with the firm Patterson Law in Truro, is appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Trial Division, to replace Madam Justice E. Van den Eynden (Truro), who was appointed to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.

Mr. Justice Hunt received a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie Law School in 1991. After being admitted to the Barristers' Society of Nova Scotia in 1992, he began practising with Patterson Law, where he became a partner in 1997. His main areas of practice were civil litigation, insurance law and criminal law.

Mr. Justice Hunt had been a member of the Nova Scotia Regional Assessment Appeal Court since 2002 and a per diem Crown attorney for the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service since 2003. He had been a member of the board of directors of the Halifax International Airport Authority since 2007 and Chair of the Governance Committee since 2012; and he was a member of the Nova Scotia Teachers' Certification Appeal Committee from 2003 to 2012.

These appointments are effective immediately.

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Ref.:

Clarissa Lamb
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621

Media Relations
Department of Justice
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