Ontario appoints two new regional senior judges for Court of Justice
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 @ 4:23 PM | By John Chunn
Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General on March 29 announced the appointment of two new regional senior justices to the Ontario Court of Justice.
According to the Ministry’s press release, Justice David Gibson will be replacing regional senior Justice Joyce Elder in the Northwest region, effective June 12, 2021. Justice Karen Lische will be replacing regional senior Justice Patrick Boucher in the Northeast region, effective June 4, 2021.
Justice Gibson was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 2013 and has served as local administrative judge in Kenora and Fort Frances since 2016.
Justice Gibson was the Northwest representative for the Association of Ontario Judges. His recent speaking engagements include the 2019 National Criminal Law Program, the 2019 National Conference on Indigenous Criminal Justice Post-Gladue and as keynote speaker for the International Association of Prosecutors 5th Regional Conference titled Prosecuting in the 21st Century.
Justice Lische was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 2014, where she sat in family and criminal court in English and French. During her appointment, she served as local administrative judge twice, from 2016 to 2018 and then in Sudbury since 2020.
Justice Lische was an active member of court committees including the Sudbury Speciality Courts Committee and the Rules Committee. She was also the secretary for the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges from 2017 to 2020 and a mentor for justices newly appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice.
A regional senior judge of the Ontario Court of Justice exercises the powers and performs the duties of the chief justice in his or her region, subject to the authority of the chief justice. This includes scheduling court hearings and assigning cases to individual judges.
According to the Ministry’s press release, Justice David Gibson will be replacing regional senior Justice Joyce Elder in the Northwest region, effective June 12, 2021. Justice Karen Lische will be replacing regional senior Justice Patrick Boucher in the Northeast region, effective June 4, 2021.
Justice Gibson was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 2013 and has served as local administrative judge in Kenora and Fort Frances since 2016.
Justice Gibson was the Northwest representative for the Association of Ontario Judges. His recent speaking engagements include the 2019 National Criminal Law Program, the 2019 National Conference on Indigenous Criminal Justice Post-Gladue and as keynote speaker for the International Association of Prosecutors 5th Regional Conference titled Prosecuting in the 21st Century.
Justice Lische was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 2014, where she sat in family and criminal court in English and French. During her appointment, she served as local administrative judge twice, from 2016 to 2018 and then in Sudbury since 2020.
Justice Lische was an active member of court committees including the Sudbury Speciality Courts Committee and the Rules Committee. She was also the secretary for the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges from 2017 to 2020 and a mentor for justices newly appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice.
A regional senior judge of the Ontario Court of Justice exercises the powers and performs the duties of the chief justice in his or her region, subject to the authority of the chief justice. This includes scheduling court hearings and assigning cases to individual judges.
