New provincial court judges add to bench’s diversity
Two accomplished Black lawyers have been named judges on the Nova Scotia provincial and family court.
The appointments of Aleta Cromwell and Perry Borden were announced Thursday by the provincial Justice Department.
In a news release, Justice Minister Mark Furey said Cromwell and Borden have made outstanding contributions to the legal profession since they were called to the Nova Scotia bar in 1999 and 2003, respectively.
“Nova Scotians are fortunate to have individuals of their character and experience who will preside over provincial and family court matters,” Furey said.
Cromwell has spent most of her career as a lawyer with the legal services division of the Justice Department. Earlier this year, she was seconded to be acting director of the Indigenous Blacks and Mi'kmaq Initiative at Dalhousie University's Schulich law school.
She was also president of the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers and served on the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society's racial equity committee and on the province's employment equity committee.
Borden joined the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service in 2007 and rose to the level of senior Crown attorney by 2015, a position he held until his appointment to the bench.
As a lawyer, he was a member of the bar society's racial equity committee and president of the Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys' Association.
A release from the executive office of the Nova Scotia judiciary said the new judges “have spent countless hours giving back to their communities and helping improve access to justice and legal services for historically marginalized groups.”
Both volunteered with justice day camps run by the courts for young African Nova Scotians, and Cromwell was an original member of the African Nova Scotian Access to Justice Judicial Committee, established in 2018 to help organize judicial outreach sessions in Black communities across Nova Scotia.
Borden's appointment fills the vacancy created when Judge Brian Williston retired in December 2018, while Cromwell takes over for Judge Michael Sherar, who elected to go to part-time status this January.
“We are thrilled to welcome Judge Borden and Judge Cromwell to the court,” Chief Judge Pamela Williams said in the release. “Being a judge is about more than just knowing and applying the law — it takes experience, compassion, patience and the ability to consider the views of others.
“I know both will embrace this new challenge with the same sense of fairness and commitment to public service that they have shown throughout their legal careers. This is great news for Nova Scotians.”
With Thursday's appointments, there are now 32 fulltime judges on the provincial and family court, including two Mi'kmaq judges and six who identify as Black or African Nova Scotian.
More than half of the fulltime judges are female. The court also has 11 per diem or part-time judges.