Department of Justice

OTTAWA, May 27, 1998 -- The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

Judge Donna Jean Martinson of Vancouver is appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in New Westminster. She replaces Mr. Justice S.M. Leggatt, who has chosen to become a supernumerary judge.

Madam Justice Martinson obtained a LL.B. from the University of Alberta in 1973 and a LL.M. from Cambridge University in 1987. She was admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1973 and to the Bar of British Columbia in 1989.

Prior to her appointment to the Provincial Court of British Columbia in 1991, Madam Justice Martinson was a professor of law at the Univesity of British Columbia. From 1979 to 1986, she practised law in Calgary with the firms of MacPherson and Associates and Helmer & Martinson. From 1973 to 1979, she was Crown counsel for the Attorney General of Alberta.

Since 1996, Madam Justice Martinson has been co-chair of the National Judicial Institute's social context education project.

This appointment is effective immediately.

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