ALBERTA JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA, January 19, 2005 – Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

John J. Gill of Edmonton is appointed a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta . He replaces Mr. Justice J.L. Lewis, who elected to become a supernumerary judge.

Mr. Justice Gill received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta in 1980. He was admitted to the Law Society of Alberta in 1981. He also holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Manchester .

At the time of his appointment, he was a partner with the firm of McCuaig Desrochers in Edmonton where he practised primarily in the areas of arbitration, mediation and general litigation. He is certified as a chartered arbitrator and mediator by the Arbitration and Mediation Institute of Canada and has acted as the chief negotiator for the Government of Canada in the matters of several aboriginal land claims in Alberta , Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories . He has appeared before all levels of the courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Justice Gill was a member of the Fee Mediation Roster of the Law Society of Alberta and past member of its Education Committee and Practice Review Roster. As well, he has been a member of the Executive of the National Canadian Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section and a member of several other sections, including Civil Litigation, Labour Law and Aboriginal Law. He is also the founding Chair of the Northern Alberta Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. He is currently teaching at the University of Alberta Law School and has been a frequent instructor at the Legal Education Society of Alberta, as well as at the Alberta Bar Admission course.

This appointment is effective immediately.

-30-

Ref.:

Mylène Dupéré
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
(613) 992-4621