Alberta appoints city’s first female provincial judge
History was made Tuesday when the Alberta government appointed Medicine Hat Provincial Court’s first female judge.
Michelle Christopher was one of three judges appointed to various jurisdictions Tuesday.
In a news release, the government said the appointments will help to ensure Albertans have more timely and representative access to justice.
The other two appointments were Cheryl ArcandKootenay to the St. Paul Provincial Court and Melanie Hayes-Richards to Provincial Court, Edmonton Criminal.
“Melanie Hayes-Richards, Michelle Christopher and Cheryl Arcand-Kootenay are accomplished women whose dedication and expertise make them important additions to our provincial court,” said Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley. “A more representative judiciary means all Albertans benefit from a greater diversity of experience on the bench. Albertans deserve to see themselves reflected in the people who provide justice in their community.”
The three appointments will fill vacancies in each court location. The new judges will hear more cases and increase Albertans’ access to justice services, the Department of Justice said.
Natasha Carvalho, executive director of the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society, applauded the appointment.
“Every day, we hear from women in our programs about how difficult their courtroom experiences can be — and their struggle to convey the seriousness of the violence they and their children experience,” she said. “With the government’s new funding for victims of crime, we are improving how vulnerable populations are treated and seen in the courtroom and, with this historic appointment, we are also providing role models that have never existed in our community before.”
Of the 27 provincial court judges the Government of Alberta has appointed since 2015, more than half are women. Cheryl Arcand-Kootenay is the third Indigenous judge appointed in the past three years.
The newest Medicine Hat judge, Christopher, QC, was born in Drumheller. She received her bachelor of laws degree from Dalhousie Law School and her master of laws from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Called to the Alberta bar in 1987, Christopher has extensive experience in the areas of family, criminal and civil law, including as a private practitioner in Calgary, as youth criminal defence counsel with Legal Aid Alberta and as a mediator with the Provincial Court of Alberta and the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. Prior to her appointment, she served as executive director of Student Legal Assistance, faculty liaison for Pro Bono Students Canada and associate professor of law at the University of Calgary.
In addition to her legal work, Christopher has served on the boards of numerous initiatives and organizations within the legal community, both locally and nationally.