Catherine Fraser | |
---|---|
Chief Justice of Alberta | |
In office March 12, 1992 –July 30, 2022 | |
Preceded by | James Herbert Laycraft |
Succeeded by | Ritu Khullar |
Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories | |
In office March 12,1992 –July 30,2022 | |
Succeeded by | Ritu Khullar |
Chief Justice of the Nunavut Court of Appeal | |
In office 1999 –July 30,2022 | |
Preceded by | James Herbert Laycraft |
Succeeded by | Ritu Khullar |
Personal details | |
Born | Campbellton,New Brunswick,Canada | August 4,1947
Residence(s) | Edmonton,Alberta,Canada |
Alma mater | University of Alberta London School of Economics |
Occupation | lawyer/judge |
Catherine Anne Fraser KC AOE (born August 4,1947) is a Canadian lawyer and judge who was the chief justice of Alberta from 1992 until July 30,2022. As chief justice of Alberta,Fraser was also chief justice of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories (since 1992) and the Nunavut Court of Appeal (since its creation in 1999). [1]
Fraser was born in Campbellton,New Brunswick and moved to Edmonton in 1958. Her mother worked as a teacher and her grandparents were immigrants from Lebanon and Ukraine. [2] One of her first jobs was working in the women's section of a department store;she was paid $35 a week,five dollars less than her male colleague who worked in the men's section. Fraser stated in a 2014 interview with the Edmonton Journal that "it brought home to [her] the differences in how men and women were being treated during that era in our society." [2] She also stated that she chose the law as a profession because she saw it as a "vehicle for change" and because she was "concerned about inequality in society." [2]
A graduate of the University of Alberta,she received Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees in 1969 and 1970 respectively. She received the George Bligh O'Connor Silver Medal in Law,awarded to the law student graduating with the second highest GPA over the three-year program. She also has a Master of Laws from the London School of Economics.
Prior to her appointment to the bench,Fraser practised law with the firm of Lucas,Bishop and Fraser,and became Queen's Counsel in 1983. She taught women and the law courses at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law.
First appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta in 1989 and subsequently to the Court of Appeal of Alberta in 1991,she became the first woman appointed Chief Justice of Alberta on March 12,1992. At age 44,she was also the youngest person appointed Chief Justice of Alberta. [2]
Fraser was also on the Canadian Institute on the Administration of Justice,chair of the Education Committee of the Canadian Judicial Council and a member of the council's Special Committee on Equality in the Courts. [3]
Due to Canadian mandatory retirement for justices at age 75,Chief Justice Fraser's term would have ended on August 4,2022. However,Chief Justice Fraser retired effective July 30,2022. Her replacement,Ritu Khullar,was sworn in on February 23,2023.
She was recognized with a YWCA Tribute to Women Award. In 1996 she received the University of Alberta Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award. On May 10,2007,she received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Calgary. [4]
Fraser was made a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2024. [5]
Beverley Marian McLachlin is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the position.
Ronald Martland,was a Canadian lawyer and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was the second Albertan appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada,taking the place of Justice Nolan,who died after only a short time on the Court.
William Alexander Stevenson was a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1990 to 1992.
David Lynch Scott was a Canadian militia officer,lawyer,and judge. He served as mayor of Orangeville,Ontario,mayor of Regina,Saskatchewan and Chief Justice of Alberta.
The Court of King's Bench of Alberta is the superior trial court of the Canadian province of Alberta. During the reign of Elizabeth II,it was named Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.
The University of Alberta Faculty of Law is the graduate school of law of the University of Alberta in Edmonton,Alberta,Canada. Established as an undergraduate faculty in 1912 it is the third oldest law school in Canada,and often considered the oldest law school in Western Canada.
Constance Darlene Hunt is a Canadian lawyer,legal academic,and judge. Born in Yorkton,Saskatchewan,she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970 and a Bachelor of Law degree in 1972 from the University of Saskatchewan. In 1976,she received a Master of Law degree from Harvard University.
The Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories in Canada is the highest appellate court which hears appeals from criminal cases and civil cases of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories.
P. Colleen Suche,was appointed a judge of the Manitoba Court of King's Bench on July 17,2002. She replaced Madam Justice Barbara Hamilton,upon her appointment to the Manitoba Court of Appeal. In 2005,Madam Justice Suche also became a deputy judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice.
The Honourable Allan H.J. Wachowich is the former Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.
Horace Harvey was a lawyer,jurist,and a Chief Justice of Alberta,Canada.
The Court of Appeal of Alberta is a Canadian appellate court that serves as the highest appellate court in the jurisdiction of Alberta,subordinate to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Patricia A. Rowbotham,is a Canadian judge who is currently a Justice at the Alberta Court of Appeal in Calgary,Alberta,Canada.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is a Canadian legal advocacy organization specializing in a social conservative approach to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The libertarian organisation has partnered with several right-wing backers in the United States.
Robin Camp is a former Federal Court of Canada judge. Camp was the subject of a high-profile removal hearing before the Canadian Judicial Council for his role in a 2014 sexual assault trial that he presided over. The judicial committee recommended that he be removed from the bench. In 2018 Camp was reinstated into the Law Society of Alberta.
Sheilah L. Martin is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada,having served in that role since December 18,2017. She was nominated to the court by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 29,2017. Before her appointment to Canada's highest court,Martin had served on the Court of Appeal of Alberta,the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories,and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut since 2016,and the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta from 2005 to 2016.
Renu Mandhane is a Canadian jurist and lawyer who was appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Brampton) on May 22,2020.
Ellen Irene Picard is a Canadian former law professor and judge. In 2017,she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of her contributions as a legal scholar.
Ritu Khullar,is a Canadian jurist who currently serves as the Chief Justice of Alberta and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories and the Nunavut Court of Appeal. She was appointed on November 28,2022 and sworn in on February 23,2023.
Nicholas Devlin is a Canadian jurist and former federal prosecutor. He is currently a Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta.