Department of Justice

FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT

-- The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

John A. O'Keefe, Q.C., of Charlottetown is appointed a Judge of the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division. He replaces Mr. Justice Marshall E. Rothstein, who was appointed to the Appeal Division of the Federal Court of Canada.

Mr. Justice O'Keefe obtained his LL.B. from Dalhousie Law School in 1974, and was called to the Prince Edward Island Bar in 1975. Later that year, he joined the firm of Foster MacDonald and Carruthers, now known as Foster O'Keefe, where he practised primarily in the area of civil litigation, labour and administrative law. Mr. Justice O'Keefe also has experience as an arbitrator.

Mr. Justice O'Keefe has served as President of the Prince Edward Island Division of the Canadian Bar Association as well as being a member of its National Executive Board. Since 1988, Mr. Justice O'Keefe has been Chair, as well as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Prince Edward Island. He has also served on the National Board of the Canadian Diabetes Association as well as being their National Secretary.

This appointment is effective immediately.

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