Changes At The Top
The Supreme Court of Canada has seen many changes over the last four years. Prior to last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed four new Judges in the past four years being: Judges Michael Moldaver (2011), Justice Andromache Karakatsanis (2011), Justice Richard Wagner (2012), and Justice Clément Gascon (2014). On November 27, 2014, Ms. Suzanne Côté was appointed to the Supreme Court.
Justice Côté is a widely respected trial lawyer from Quebec and is the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court with no prior Judicial experience. However, she has ample litigation experience, having appeared at every level of Court in Quebec and has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada. She has been involved in the high stakes tobacco class-action litigation in Quebec and has also represented the Government of Quebec on numerous occasions.