Judicial Advisory Committee for Tax Court of Canada chosen
Wednesday, November 01, 2017 @ 9:48 AM | By Carolyn Gruske
The five experts who will assist the federal Department of Justice pick new tax court judges have been named.
The tax specialists now form the Judicial Advisory Committee (JAC) for the Tax Court of Canada. The goal of a JAC (and with the creation of this one, there are now 16 in total) is to provide the minister of justice with lists of judicial candidates who have been evaluated under the merit-based assessment program introduced in October 2016.
The appointees are: Justice Randall S. Bocock, Michel Bourque, Kim Brooks, Nathalie Goyette and Vern Krishna.
Justice Bocock has been on the Tax Court of Canada since 2011 where he has chaired the judicial education committee and served on the permanent program committee of the International Association of Tax Judges. Before that he was a partner with Evans Philp LLP in Hamilton for over 25 years and headed its business and property law group, in addition to being chair of the firm's management committee and secretary to the partnership.
Justice Bocock has also been chair of the Federation of Ontario Law Associations, president of the Hamilton Law Association, a former member of the Canadian Association of University Solicitors, an executive member of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and a law society-nominated director of the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO).
Bourque practises at KPMG Law LLP where he specializes in tax litigation. Before joining the firm, he clerked for the chief justice of New Brunswick and also for Justice Gerald J. Rip, who later would become the chief justice of the Tax Court of Canada.
Brooks is a professor and former dean of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. In addition, she has taught taxation at Queen’s University, the University of British Columbia and McGill University, and has earned six Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grants for her work on tax law scholarship. During her time in private practice, she worked at Stikeman Elliott LLP in Toronto and London practising tax law.
Goyette is an experienced tax litigator and a partner with PwC Law LLP in Montreal. She has worked for both the government and for individual clients. Goyette began her career at the federal Department of Justice, and has been a member of Tax Court of Canada Rules Committee since 2007. She also served as a governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation.
Krishna is a University of Ottawa professor of taxation, business law and corporate finance. His scholarship has been cited by 31 decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada. He is also a tax counsel with Tax Chambers LLP in Toronto. Krishna twice served as a commissioner of the Ontario Securities Commission and he is a former president of the Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario and a former treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
“I am grateful to these five Canadians for volunteering their time and energies to the Judicial Advisory Committee for the Tax Court of Canada,” said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.
“The newly announced committee includes tax practitioners, renowned academics and a justice of the Tax Court of Canada. Members of the committee are tasked with ensuring that only the most meritorious candidates are recommended for appointment to the Tax Court of Canada. As such, their work will have a tremendous impact for the court, for litigants and ultimately for the Canadian taxpayer,” she said.
The tax specialists now form the Judicial Advisory Committee (JAC) for the Tax Court of Canada. The goal of a JAC (and with the creation of this one, there are now 16 in total) is to provide the minister of justice with lists of judicial candidates who have been evaluated under the merit-based assessment program introduced in October 2016.
The appointees are: Justice Randall S. Bocock, Michel Bourque, Kim Brooks, Nathalie Goyette and Vern Krishna.
Justice Bocock has been on the Tax Court of Canada since 2011 where he has chaired the judicial education committee and served on the permanent program committee of the International Association of Tax Judges. Before that he was a partner with Evans Philp LLP in Hamilton for over 25 years and headed its business and property law group, in addition to being chair of the firm's management committee and secretary to the partnership.
Justice Bocock has also been chair of the Federation of Ontario Law Associations, president of the Hamilton Law Association, a former member of the Canadian Association of University Solicitors, an executive member of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and a law society-nominated director of the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LawPRO).
Bourque practises at KPMG Law LLP where he specializes in tax litigation. Before joining the firm, he clerked for the chief justice of New Brunswick and also for Justice Gerald J. Rip, who later would become the chief justice of the Tax Court of Canada.
Brooks is a professor and former dean of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. In addition, she has taught taxation at Queen’s University, the University of British Columbia and McGill University, and has earned six Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grants for her work on tax law scholarship. During her time in private practice, she worked at Stikeman Elliott LLP in Toronto and London practising tax law.
Goyette is an experienced tax litigator and a partner with PwC Law LLP in Montreal. She has worked for both the government and for individual clients. Goyette began her career at the federal Department of Justice, and has been a member of Tax Court of Canada Rules Committee since 2007. She also served as a governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation.
Krishna is a University of Ottawa professor of taxation, business law and corporate finance. His scholarship has been cited by 31 decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada. He is also a tax counsel with Tax Chambers LLP in Toronto. Krishna twice served as a commissioner of the Ontario Securities Commission and he is a former president of the Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario and a former treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
“I am grateful to these five Canadians for volunteering their time and energies to the Judicial Advisory Committee for the Tax Court of Canada,” said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.
“The newly announced committee includes tax practitioners, renowned academics and a justice of the Tax Court of Canada. Members of the committee are tasked with ensuring that only the most meritorious candidates are recommended for appointment to the Tax Court of Canada. As such, their work will have a tremendous impact for the court, for litigants and ultimately for the Canadian taxpayer,” she said.
