‘Outstanding’ Calgary judge promoted to Supreme Court
ThenominationofanAlberta-based judge to the Supreme Court of Canada is being applauded by members of Calgary’s legal community.
Sheilah Martin’s appointment to Canada’s top court was announced Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who lauded her strong focus on education, equality rights and increasing the number of underrepresented groups in law schools and the legal profession.
Trudeau called her “an extraordinary jurist” with a wealth of experience who would be “a great voice on the Supreme Court.”
Martin, of Calgary, was born and raised in Montreal, and trained in civil and common law before moving to Alberta to pursue work as an educator, lawyer and judge.
Ian Holloway, the dean of law at the University of Calgary, called the announcement “a happy day for all Canadians who believe in the rule of law.”
“Madam Justice Martin is an absolutely first-rate lawyer,” he said. “But she also has wonderful human qualities — warmth and empathy and a sense of humour, a tremendous work ethic. And when you put that whole package together, that’s what makes a good lawyer into an outstanding jurist.”
Martin will fill the vacancy left when Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin retires Dec. 15. A new chief justice will be named in mid-December, federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said.
McLachlin is stepping down after 28 years on the court, including almost 18 years as chief. She is the first woman to hold the top job on the high court and is also Canada’s longest-serving chief justice.
Calgary criminal lawyer Don MacLeod described Martin as “an entirely worthy successor” to the vacancy left by McLachlin’s exit.
“I think her appointment will be welcomed by the civil bar, the prosecution bar, the defence bar, countrywide,” he said.
“She brings a great depth of legal knowledge, a diverse background, including academia, including civil practice, including being a trial and an appellate judge.”
Martin received a Master of Laws from the University of Alberta and a Doctorate of Juridical Science from the University of Toronto. She was called to the Alberta bar in 1989 and worked as a professor of law at the University of Calgary from 1992 to 2005, and as dean of the Faculty of Law from 1992 to 1996.
In her Supreme Court candidacy submission, Martin wrote of her passion for teaching and sharing a joy of learning.
“While my commitment to fairness and equal justice for all spans and unites my entire career, my most significant contribution has been to education, richly defined,” she said. “My guiding desire has been to use what I have learned to help others gain a greater understanding of the law: its purpose, role and promise.”
Martin practised criminal and constitutional litigation in Calgary from 1996 to 2005. She was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench for Alberta in 2005, and in 2016 to the Courts of Appeal of Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. She has also served as a deputy judge for the Supreme Court of Yukon since 2009.
Alberta’s acting justice minister, Marlin Schmidt, congratulated Martin on her nomination.
“Justice Martin distinguished herself as a member of Alberta’s judiciary through her contributions on both the Court of Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal,” said Schmidt.
“She has been recognized with a number of awards for her advocacy and community work, including the YWCA’s Advancement of Women Award. It’s great to see a nominee and voice from Alberta at the highest court in the nation, and I believe she would serve all Canadians well.”
Criminal lawyer Alain Hepner also praised the appointment, describing Martin as having “a brilliant legal mind.”
“Anyone in her courtroom always got an eminently fair hearing,” he said.
While he described her best quality as her ability to comprehend and apply the law, he added the judge is also “a very sympathetic individual.”
“Her empathy for the disenfranchised is remarkable,” he said.