NOVA SCOTIA JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA , March 24, 2005 – Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

Beryl A. MacDonald, Q.C. , of Amherst is appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. She will replace Justice D.K. Smith, who was appointed Associate Chief Justice.

Madam Justice MacDonald received a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 1974, and was admitted to the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society in 1975. She was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2000.

At the time of her appointment, she was a partner with the firm Hicks, LeMoine where she practised primarily in the area of family law. In the past, Madam Justice MacDonald has served as a Board member, Secretary and Vice-Chairperson of the continuing Legal Education Society of Nova Scotia. She is a former member-at-large and a member of the Discipline Panel of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.

This appointment is effective immediately.

- 30 -

Ref.:

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