Department of Justice

FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

OTTAWA, December 9, 1999 -- The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments:

The Honourable Justice Allan Lutfy, of the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, is appointed Associate Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division. He replaces Chief Justice John Richard, who has been appointed Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada.

Associate Chief Justice Lutfy graduated in law from McGill University in 1967. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1968 and to the Ontario Bar in 1985. Prior to his appointment to the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, in 1996, Associate Chief Justice Lutfy practised with the firm of Lavery, de Billy in Montreal and in Ottawa. During this time, he acted as counsel for various commissions of inquiry, including the Restrictive Trade Practices Commission concerning competition in the Canadian Petroleum Industry and from 1986-1996 was counsel for the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery. Just before his appointment, Associate Chief Justice Lutfy had been named to the Competition Tribunal.

The Honourable Justice John M. Evans, of the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, is appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Canada, Appeal Division. He replaces Madam Justice Alice Desjardins, who has chosen to become a supernumerary judge.

Mr. Justice Evans graduated in law from Oxford University in 1965, and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1979. Prior to his appointment to the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, in 1998, he was a professor of administrative law at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he served as Associate Dean from 1982 to 1985. Mr. Justice Evans has published extensively on the subject of administrative law and is the co-author of Brown and Evans, Judicial Review of Administrative Law in Canada.

The Honourable Dolores Hansen, a judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta, is appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division. She replaces Mr. Justice Lutfy, who has been appointed Associate Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada - Trial Division.

Madam Justice Hansen graduated in law from the University of Alberta in 1969, and was called to the Alberta Bar in 1970. Prior to her appointment to the Provincial Court of Alberta in 1982, Madam Justice Hansen was in private practice. In 1993, she became the Executive Director of the National Judicial Institute in Ottawa. She is a member of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges. Madam Justice Hansen is bilingual and is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Canada-South Africa Justice Linkage Project.

Eleanor R. Dawson, Q.C., of Manitoba is appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division. She replaces Mr. Justice John Evans, who has been appointed to the Federal Court of Canada, Appeal Division.

Madam Justice Dawson graduated in law from the University of Manitoba in 1976, and was called to the Manitoba Bar the following year. She was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1988. From 1977 to 1984, she practised with the Honourable Mr. Justice A. Kerr Twaddle, first as an associate and later as a partner; from 1984 to 1986, she was counsel to the Law Society of Manitoba. Immediately prior to her appointment, Madam Justice Dawson was a partner with Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson, specializing in civil litigation. A member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Manitoba Bar Association, Madam Justice Dawson is immediate past president of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and is Chair of the Canadian Council on Animal Care.

These appointments are effective immediately.

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