MANITOBA JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA, February 2, 2005 – Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

Marianne Rivoalen of Winnipeg is appointed a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba (Family Division).

Madam Justice Rivoalen received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Moncton Law School in 1988. She was admitted to the Law Society of Manitoba in 1989.

At the time of her appointment, she was Senior Counsel with the Department of Justice Canada , practising litigation within the Aboriginal Law Services Group. Prior to that, she had been with the Winnipeg firms of Aikins, MacAulay and Thorvaldson, and Pitblado & Hoskin, practising mostly in Family law and civil litigation.

In the past, Madam Justice Rivoalen has served as Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Residential Tenancies Commission of Manitoba. She has served on several committees of the Law Society of Manitoba, has been a member of Council of the Manitoba Bar Association, as well as a member of the Committee on Case Management in the Court of Queen's Bench Family Division. She is a past President of the Association des Juristes d'Expression Française du Manitoba, the Sociéte Franco-Manitobaine, as well as Pluri-Elles. She was also a Director of Réseau Action Femmes.

Madam Justice Rivoalen has taught at the Manitoba Bar Admission Course and at the Red River Community College. In addition to that, she is Vice-President and member of the Board of Governors of the Collège universitaire de St-Boniface.

This appointment is effective immediately.

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Ref.:

Denise Rudnicki
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Justice
(613) 992-4621