Federal Court (Canada)

Federal Court
Coat of Arms of the Federal Court granted in 2008
Established	2003
Country	Canada
Location	Ottawa, Ontario
Authorized by	Constitution Act, 1867 Federal Courts Act Courts Administration Service Act
Number of positions	32
Website	Federal Court
Chief Justice
Currently	Paul S. Crampton
Since	December 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 lower court with nationwide jurisdiction.

History

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

Structure

The Federal Court consists of a Chief Justice and thirty-two other judges. Currently, there are 28 full-time judges (leaving five vacancies in the Court), along with four supernumerary judges, six deputy judges, and six prothonotaries.

Law Clerks are hired for 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. Chief Justice receives $315,900 while other judges receives $288,100 annually.^[2]

Jurisdiction

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

Some examples of the sort of cases heard by the Federal Court are:^[3]

• judicial review of immigration decisions,
• judicial review of Veterans Review and Appeal Board of Canada decisions,
• intellectual property disputes,
• cases involving admiralty (maritime) law,
• various aboriginal law matters, and
• claims against the Queen in Right of Canada.

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 decisions made by most federal boards, commissions, and administrative tribunals, and to resolve lawsuits by or against the federal government.

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 prothonotaries

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
Sandra J. Simpson (Supernumerary)	1993	Mulroney	Lawyer at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP
Danièle Tremblay-Lamer (Supernumerary)	1993	Mulroney	Lawyer at the Department of Justice
Douglas R. Campbell (Supernumerary)	1995	Chrétien	Provincial Court of British Columbia
John A. O'Keefe (Supernumerary)	1999	Chrétien	Lawyer at Foster O'Keefe LLP
Elizabeth Heneghan	1999	Chrétien	Lawyer (Sole Practitioner)
Dolores Hansen (Supernumerary)	1999	Chrétien	Provincial Court of Alberta
Michel Beaudry (Supernumerary)	2002	Chrétien	Lawyer at Beaudry, Bertrand
Luc Martineau	2002	Chrétien	Lawyer (Sole Practitioner)
Simon Noël	2002	Chrétien	Lawyer at Noël & Associates
James Russell	2002	Chrétien	Lawyer at McDougall, Gauley LLP
James O'Reilly	2002	Chrétien	Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court of Canada
Sean J. Harrington (Supernumerary)	2003	Chrétien	Lawyer at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Richard Mosley	2003	Chrétien	Assistant Deputy Minister, Criminal Law and Social Policy
Michel M.J. Shore	2003	Chrétien	Immigration and Refugee Board
Michael L. Phelan	2003	Chrétien	Lawyer at Ogilvy Renault LLP
Anne L. Mactavish	2003	Chrétien	Chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Roger T. Hughes (Supernumerary)	2005	Martin	Lawyer at Sim, Hughes, Ashton & McKay
Robert L. Barnes	2005	Martin	Lawyer at Burchell, Hayman, Parish
Leonard S. Mandamin	2007	Harper	Provincial Court of Alberta
Russel W. Zinn	2008	Harper	Lawyer at Ogilvy Renault LLP
Jocelyne Gagné	2012	Harper	Lawyer at Lavery, de Billy 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
Peter Annis	2013	Harper	Ontario Superior Court of Justice
Glennys L. McVeigh	2013	Harper	Senior Counsel at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada
René Leblanc	2014	Harper	Department of Justice Senior General Counsel
Martine St-Louis	2014	Harper	Lawyer at McCarthy Tétrault
George R. Locke	2014	Harper	Lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright
Henry S. Brown	2014	Harper	Lawyer at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Keith M. Boswell	2014	Harper	Lawyer at Stewart McKelvey 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
Robin Camp	2015	Harper	Provincial Court of Alberta
Susan Elliott	2015	Harper	Lawyer at Good Elliott Hawkins LLP
Sylvie E. Roussel	2015	Harper	Counsel at Security Intelligence Review Committee
Ann Marie McDonald	2015	Harper	Lawyer at McInnes Cooper

The prothonotaries of the court by seniority are:

• Richard Morneau
• Roger Lafrenière
• Mireille Tabib
• Martha Milczynski
• Kevin R. Aalto

Former judges

Chief Justice

• Allan Lutfy: July 3, 2003 – September 30, 2011^{[note 1]}

Puisne judges

• 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 7]}
• Eleanor Dawson: July 3, 2003 – December 26, 2009^{[note 8]}
• Carolyn Layden-Stevenson: July 3, 2003 – December 12, 2008^{[note 9]}
• Johanne Gauthier: July 3, 2003 – October 21, 2011^{[note 10]}
• 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

See also

Notes

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. 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 June 23, 1998, until the reorganisation.
8. Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from December 8, 1999, until the reorganisation.
9. Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from January 25, 2002, until the reorganisation.
10. Served on the Federal Court of Canada–Trial Division from December 11, 2002, until the reorganisation.

References

1. "The Federal Court's Coat of Arms". Federal Court. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
2. Judges Act, s 10
3. "About the Court - Jurisdiction". Federal Court. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2015.

External links

• Federal Court website