OTTAWA, October 30, 2003 -- The Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

Leigh F. Gower of Whitehorse is appointed a judge of the Yukon Supreme Court. He will be assigned by the Senior Justice to Whitehorse and will replace Mr. Justice R.E. Hudson who resigned.

Mr. Justice Gower received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan in 1984. He was admitted to the Law Society of the Northwest Territories in 1985, the Law Society of Alberta in 1986, and the Law Society of Yukon in 1991.

At the time of his appointment, he was a partner with the Whitehorse firm of Miller Thomson LLP and practised mostly in criminal and civil litigation, as well as administrative law.

Mr. Justice Gower is past president of the Law Society of Yukon and a past member of several of its committees, including the Territorial Court Users Committee and the Territorial Court Act Implementation Committee. He was also a member of the National Executive Committee of the Canadian Bar Association, President of the Yukon branch, and Vice-President of the Northwest Territories branch. Also, Mr. Justice Gower has served as Chair of the Northwest Territories Ethics and Practice Committee, Secretary and Treasurer of the Northwest Territories Defence Lawyers Association, and has been a member of the Bench and Bar Seminar Committee of the Yukon.

This appointment is effective immediately.

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Ref.:

Catherine Gagnaire
Press Secretary
Minister's Office
(613) 992-4621