Government appoints 12 new judges, creates four new judgeships

The Alberta government is adding new judge positions to the provincial court for the first time in almost a decade.

On Wednesday, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro announced the appointment of 12 new judges to the Provincial Court of Alberta, including four newly created judgeships.

The four new positions were added in response to a 12-per-cent increase in the total number of active criminal cases in the system over the past two years, a news release said.

“The Provincial Court of Alberta plays an essential role in the lives of Albertans by upholding the rule of law through the administration of Alberta's justice system,” Shandro said in a statement. “I am proud to be part of a government that recognizes that invaluable contribution and honoured to be able to announce the first expansion of the provincial court since 2013.”

The judges will take on roles in the province's north, as well as with criminal, family, civil and youth courts in Edmonton and Calgary.

The Alberta government is responsible for appointing judges to the provincial court, while appointments to the Court of Queen's Bench are made at the federal level. The Alberta Judicial Council reviews initial applications to the bench and then recommends candidates to the Provincial Court Nominating Committee.

Chief Judge Derek Redman said the new positions “will increase the ability of our court to provide a fair, accessible and timely system of justice for all Albertans.”

The new appointees are:

■ Aldo Argento, a senior partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada specializing in Indigenous law and interpretation of treaty rights, who will serve on the Calgary Civil Division

■ Joanne Heudes, who practises family, real estate and child welfare law in Athabasca, who has been appointed to the Edmonton region

■ Kimberley Palichuk, counsel for the chief judge of the provincial court, who will serve on the Edmonton criminal division

■ Jayme Williams, a project counsel, executive director and chief prosecutor with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Services, who has been appointed to the Calgary Criminal Division

■ Gerald Annetts, a 25-year member of the RCMP who worked as a lawyer for Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale Mcfee, who will hear cases in the Edmonton region

■ Chang Thi Doan Du, a senior counsel for tax law services with Justice Canada, who will serve with the Edmonton family and youth division

■ David Findlay, a partner with Findlay Mcquaid Law specializing in child protection, wills and estates, adoptions, private guardianship and residential real estate, who will serve with the Calgary and family youth court

■ Steven Hinkley, the chief Crown prosecutor in Grande Prairie who served as legal counsel for the RCMP, who will work in the provincial court's northern region

■ Kathleen Linton, a sole practitioner in family and youth law, who has been appointed to the Edmonton family and youth court

■ Barry Nordin, chief federal prosecutor for the Alberta region of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, who will serve on the Calgary criminal division

■ Gordon Putnam, a managing partner at law firm Putnam & Lawson in Gibbons, who specializes in real estate, corporate, wills and estates, subdivision and land development. He has been appointed to the court's Edmonton region

■ Lisa Tchir, a former prosecutor and current assistant deputy minister of the Legal Services Division with Alberta Justice and Solicitor General. She has been appointed to Edmonton criminal division