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Federal Court (Canada)

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Federal Court
Coat of Arms of the Federal Court granted in 2008
Map
Established2003
JurisdictionCanada
LocationOttawa, Ontario
Authorized by
Appeals toFederal Court of Appeal
Number of positions32
WebsiteFederal Court
Chief Justice
CurrentlyPaul S. Crampton
SinceDecember 15, 2011

The Federal Court (French: Cour fédérale) is a Canadian trial court that hears cases arising under certain areas of federal law. The Federal Court is a superior court with nationwide jurisdiction.

History

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The court was created on July 2, 2003, by the Courts Administration Service Act[1] when it and the Federal Court of Appeal were split from their predecessor, the Federal Court of Canada (which had been created June 1, 1971, through the enactment of the Federal Court Act, subsequently renamed the Federal Courts Act).[2] The court's authority comes from the Federal Courts Act.

On October 24, 2008, the Federal Court was given its own armorial bearings by the Governor General, the third court in Canada to be given its own coat of arms – after the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada and Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The coat of arms features a newly created fantastical creature, the winged sea caribou, as the supporters, representing the provision of justice on air, land and sea.[3]

Structure

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The Federal Court consists of a chief justice, an associate chief justice, and 35 full-time judges, along with nine supernumerary judges, and eight associate judges. [4]

Law clerks are hired for not more than a one-year terms to help the judges research and prepare decisions. They are generally assigned to a particular judge.

Judges' salaries are determined annually by the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission. The chief justice receives $315,900, while other judges receive $288,100 annually.[5]

Administration

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The Courts Administration Service provides registry services to multiple Canadian courts, including the Federal Court.[6] The Federal Court Registry is located in Ottawa, with regional offices throughout the country. The Registry in Ottawa maintains all original court files, with certified copies maintained in regional offices.[7] The Registry provides clerical services and other administrative support to the Court, and provides clerical services and procedural guidance to litigants.[8]

Jurisdiction

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The Federal Court cannot hear any case unless a federal statute confers jurisdiction on the court to hear cases of that type.

The Federal Court hears cases in the following areas of law:[9]

These instances of jurisdiction may either be exclusive or concurrent with provincial superior courts, depending on the statute. The court has the authority to judicially review the decisions made by federal boards, commissions, and administrative tribunals, and to resolve lawsuits by or against the federal government.

More than 50% of the court's workload consists of immigration and refugee cases.[10]

Decisions of the Federal Court may be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal. Because it is a superior court of national jurisdiction, judgments are enforceable across Canada without the need for certification by the courts of a specific province.

Judges and associate judges

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Name Appointed Nominated by Position prior to appointment
Paul S. Crampton (Chief Justice) 2009
2011 (as Chief Justice)
Harper Lawyer at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Jocelyne Gagné (Associate Chief Justice) 2012
2018 (as Associate Chief Justice)
Harper
Trudeau
Lawyer at Lavery, de Billy LLP
Elizabeth Heneghan 1999 Chrétien Lawyer (Sole Practitioner)
James O'Reilly (Supernumerary) 2002 Chrétien Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court of Canada
Richard Mosley (Supernumerary) 2003 Chrétien Assistant Deputy Minister, Criminal Law and Social Policy
Russel W. Zinn (Supernumerary) 2008 Harper Lawyer at Ogilvy Renault LLP
Catherine Kane 2012 Harper Department of Justice Senior General Counsel
Michael D. Manson 2012 Harper Lawyer at Smart & Biggar
Yvan Roy 2012 Harper Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet
Cecily Strickland 2012 Harper Lawyer at Stewart McKelvey LLP
Glennys L. McVeigh 2013 Harper Senior Counsel at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada
Martine St-Louis 2014 Harper Lawyer at McCarthy Tétrault
Henry S. Brown 2014 Harper Lawyer at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Alan Diner 2014 Harper Lawyer at Baker & McKenzie LLP
Simon Fothergill 2014 Harper Counsel with the Privy Council of Canada
B. Richard Bell 2015 Harper Court of Appeal of New Brunswick
Denis Gascon 2015 Harper Lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada
Richard F. Southcott 2015 Harper Vice President and General Counsel at Irving Shipbuilding Inc.
Patrick K. Gleeson 2015 Harper Senior Legal Advisor at Judge Advocate General
Susan Elliott 2015 Harper Lawyer at Good Elliott Hawkins LLP
Ann Marie McDonald 2015 Harper Lawyer at McInnes Cooper
Roger Lafrenière (Supernumerary) 2017 Trudeau Prothonotary at Federal Court
William F. Pentney 2017 Trudeau Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Shirzad S. Ahmed 2017 Trudeau Lawyer (Sole Practitioner)
Sébastien Grammond 2017 Trudeau Professor and Dean of Civil Law at University of Ottawa
Paul Favel 2017 Trudeau Lawyer at McKercher LLP
Elizabeth Walker[11] 2018 Trudeau Chair, RCMP External Review Committee
John Norris [12] 2018 Trudeau Lawyer, Sole Practitioner
Peter George Pamel 2019 Trudeau Lawyer at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Nicholas McHaffie 2019 Trudeau Lawyer at Stikeman Elliott LLP
Janet M. Fuhrer 2019 Trudeau Lawyer at Rideout & Maybee
Christine Pallotta 2020 Trudeau Lawyer at Borden Ladner Gervais
Andrew D. Little 2020 Trudeau Lawyer at Bennett Jones
Angela Furlanetto 2021 Trudeau Prothonotary at Federal Court
Lobat Sadrehashemi 2021 Trudeau Lawyer at Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinic, Vancouver
Avvy Yao-Yao Go 2021 Trudeau Clinic Director, Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic
Mandy Aylen 2021 Trudeau Prothonotary at Federal Court
Vanessa Rochester 2021 Trudeau Lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Guy Regimbald 2022 Trudeau Lawyer at Gowling WLG
Ekaterina Tsimberis 2023 Trudeau Smart & Biggar
Anne Turley 2023 Trudeau Department of Justice
Negar Azmudeh 2023 Trudeau Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Phuong Ngo 2023 Trudeau Gowling WLG

The associate judges of the court by seniority are:

  • Mireille Tabib
  • Martha Milczynski
  • Kevin R. Aalto
  • Kathleen Marie Ring
  • Alexandra Steele
  • Sylvie M. Molgat
  • Catherine A. Coughlan
  • L.E. Trent Horne

Former judges

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Chief Justice
  • Allan Lutfy: July 3, 2003 – September 30, 2011[note 1]
Puisne judges
Name Date of appointment
Paul U.C. Rouleau July 3, 2003 – July 25, 2007[note 2]
Max M. Teitlebaum July 3, 2003 – January 27, 2007[note 3]
W. Andrew MacKay July 3, 2003 – March 20, 2004[note 4]
Frederick E. Gibson July 3, 2003 – August 30, 2008[note 5]
James K. Hugessen July 3, 2003 – July 26, 2008[note 6]
Pierre Blais, P.C. July 3, 2003 – February 19, 2008[note 6]
Eleanor Dawson July 3, 2003 – December 26, 2009[note 7]
Carolyn Layden-Stevenson July 3, 2003 – December 12, 2008[note 8]
Johanne Gauthier July 3, 2003 – October 21, 2011[note 9]
Konrad W. von Finckenstein August 14, 2003 – January 25, 2007
Robert M. Mainville June 16, 2009 – June 18, 2010
Yvon Pinard, P.C. June 19, 1984 – July 1, 2013
Robin Camp June 26, 2015 – March 9, 2017

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Lutfy was Associate Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada from December 8, 1999, until the reorganisation.
  2. ^ Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from August 5, 1982, until the reorganisation.
  3. ^ Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from October 29, 1985, until the reorganisation.
  4. ^ Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from September 2, 1988, until the reorganisation.
  5. ^ Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from April 1, 1993, until the reorganisation.
  6. ^ a b Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from June 23, 1998, until the reorganisation.
  7. ^ Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from December 8, 1999, until the reorganisation.
  8. ^ Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from January 25, 2002, until the reorganisation.
  9. ^ Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from December 11, 2002, until the reorganisation.

References

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  1. ^ "Courts Administration Service Act". canlii.ca.
  2. ^ Federal Courts Act, RSC 1985, c. F-7.
  3. ^ "The Federal Court's Coat of Arms". Federal Court. 4 January 2013. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Federal Court of Canada Members". Federal Court, Canada. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  5. ^ Judges Act, s 10
  6. ^ "Role and Mandate". Courts Administration Service. Government of Canada. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Registry Offices". Federal Court. Government of Canada. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Registry Services". Federal Court. Government of Canada. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  9. ^ "About the Court - Jurisdiction". Federal Court. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Federal Court Statistics". Federal Court, Canada. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  11. ^ "Government of Canada announces judicial appointments to the Federal Court". Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Government of Canada announces judicial appointments to the Federal Court". Retrieved 5 March 2018.
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