FEDERAL COURT JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA, November 23, 2005 – Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

Robert L. Barnes, Q.C., of Halifax is appointed a judge of the Federal Court. He replaces Mr. Justice Y. Pinard who has elected supernumerary status.

Mr. Justice Barnes received a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 1977. He was admitted to the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society and to the British Columbia Bar in 1978.

At the time of his appointment, he was a partner with the firm Burchell Hayman Parish, where he practised primarily in the area of civil litigation.

Mr. Justice Barnes served as Director of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Liability Claims Fund Board. He is a past member of the Nova Scotia Bar Council, a former member of the Advisory Board of the Canadian Lawyers Insurance Association and a past part-time faculty member of the Dalhousie University Faculty of Law.

This appointment is effective immediately.

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Ref.:

François Giroux
Judicial Affairs Advisor
Office of the Minister of Justice
(613) 992-4621