MADAM JUSTICE LOUISE ARBOUR APPOINTED
TO THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA

OTTAWA, June 10, 1999 - The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the appointment of Madam Justice Louise Arbour a judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Madam Justice Arbour graduated from the University of Montreal with a Bachelor of Arts in 1967 and an LL.L. in 1970. She was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1971 after having articled with the Legal Department of the City of Montreal. Madam Justice Arbour was Law Clerk for Mr. Justice Louis-Philippe Pigeon of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1971-1972 while completing graduate studies at the Faculty of Law (Civil Section) of the University of Ottawa. She was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1977.

Before her appointment to the Supreme Court of Ontario (High Court of Justice) in 1987 and to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1990, Madam Justice Arbour was Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, where she taught from 1974 to 1987. She also was Vice-President of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association until her first appointment to the Bench. Earlier in her career, she was a Research Officer for the Law Reform Commission of Canada.

In 1995, Madam Justice Arbour was appointed as President of a Commission of Inquiry, under the Inquiries Act, for the purpose of investigating and reporting on events at the Prison for Women in Kingston. Since 1996, Madam Justice Arbour has been Chief Prosecutor of War Crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

Madam Justice Arbour has published and lectured on a variety of topics including criminal law and Charter issues.

This appointment takes effect on September 15, 1999.

-30-

Ref.: Johanne Senécal
Minister's Office
(613) 992-4621