Candee McCarthy to act as NS Barristers’ Society president, given Michelle Kelly’s appointment
Sean Fraser, Canada’s justice minister and attorney general, has announced the judicial appointments of Alexandre Boucher, Stéphane Poulin, Karine Joizil, Maude Grenier, Marianna Ferraro, Peter J. Osborne, Catherine V. Weiler, Bryna D. Hatt, and Michelle M. Kelly in Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
According to the federal justice department, these lawyers have accepted the following appointments:
- Boucher: a puisne judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal in Montreal, replacing Justice Guy Cournoyer in Montreal, who elected to be a supernumerary judge as of June 24
- Poulin: a judge of the Quebec Superior Court for the Quebec district, replacing Justice Johanne April in Quebec, who elected to be a supernumerary judge as of May 20
- Joizil: a judge of the Quebec Superior Court for the Montreal district, replacing Justice Pierre Nollet in Montreal, who elected to be a supernumerary judge as of Apr. 23
- Grenier: a judge of the Quebec Superior Court for the Montreal district, replacing Justice Guylène Beaugé in Montreal, who elected to be a supernumerary judge as of June 18
- Ferraro: a judge of the Quebec Superior Court for the Montreal district, replacing Justice Alexandre Boucher in Montreal, elevated to the Quebec Court of Appeal as of Dec. 12
- Osborne: a judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Toronto, replacing Justice C. William Hourigan, who resigned as of Nov. 1
- Weiler: a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, replacing Justice Peter J. Osborne in Toronto, elevated to the Ontario Court of Appeal as of Dec. 12
- Hatt: a judge of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Pictou, replacing Justice Peter Rosinski in Halifax, who elected to be a supernumerary judge as of Oct. 14
- Kelly: a judge of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Bridgewater, replacing Justice Darlene A. Jamieson in Halifax, appointed associate chief justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court as of Nov. 5
News releases from Canada’s justice department provided more information regarding the professional experience and educational background of the appointees joining the Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia courts.
Alexandre Boucher
Boucher was most recently a judge of the Quebec Superior Court for the Montreal district. He worked as director of criminal and penal prosecutions from 2010, as a sole practitioner from 1995–2010, and as an agent with the Public Prosecution Service from 2006–09.
He joined the Quebec bar in 1995. He obtained an LLB from the Université de Montréal in 1994 and an LLM (criminal law) from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2010.
Stéphane Poulin
Poulin was most recently a judge in the Criminal and Penal Division of the Court of Quebec, which he joined in 2019. Before becoming a judge, he practised in law firms for over two decades, including as a partner at Bédard Poulin Avocats LLP.
He joined the Quebec bar in 1996. He received an LLB from Laval University in 1995.
Karine Joizil
Joizil was most recently a partner in the litigation group of McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Montreal. She also worked at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in Montreal and taught public and administrative law at the École du Barreau du Quebec.
She joined the Quebec bar in 2001. She holds an LLB from the University of Montreal and a specialized graduate diploma in public administration from the École nationale d'administration publique.
Maude Grenier
Grenier was most recently a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in Montreal. She previously served as a law clerk at the Quebec Court of Appeal and as chair of the Montreal bar’s liaison committee with the Conférence des arbitres du Quebec.
She joined the Quebec bar in 2007. She earned an LLB from the University of Sherbrooke in 2006.
Marianna Ferraro
Ferraro most recently served as a prosecutor with the director of criminal and penal prosecutions in Montreal. She worked as a litigation lawyer at McCarthy Tétrault and as a prosecutor at the Autorité des marchés financiers.
She joined the Quebec bar in 2008. She obtained a BCL/LLB from the McGill University Faculty of Law and an LLM (criminal law) from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Peter Osborne
Osborne was most recently an Ontario Superior Court judge in Toronto, which he joined in 2022. He previously worked at Lenczner Slaght and at Goodmans LLP. His practice covered commercial law, insolvency, shareholder rights and governance, and professional discipline.
He joined the Ontario bar in 1992. He received an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1990.
Catherine Weiler
Weiler was most recently Crown counsel at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General in Toronto. She worked at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in Washington, the Canadian Securities Transition Office, and the Ontario Securities Commission.
She joined the bars in Ontario in 2006 and in New York in 2008. She holds an LLB from Dalhousie Law School and an LLM from Harvard Law School.
Bryna Hatt
Hatt was most recently a judge of the Nova Scotia Provincial Court in Pictou, which she joined in 2023. She worked in the areas of Aboriginal law, labour and employment law, and civil litigation. She obtained certification as a workplace investigator.
She joined the Nova Scotia bar in 2008. She earned a BA with joint honours in law in society and sociology from the University of New Brunswick, an LLB from Dalhousie University, and an LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Michelle Kelly
Kelly was most recently a partner at Cox & Palmer in Halifax. Her litigation practice covered insurance defence, real property, estate, and construction matters. She joined the Nova Scotia bar in 2004 and obtained her LLB from the University of New Brunswick in 2003. She was named one of Canadian Lawyer's Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in 2023.
Earlier this year, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society named her as its 2025–26 president. Given Kelly’s judicial appointment, first vice president Candee McCarthy has assumed the presidential duties and powers. The society’s council intends to formally appoint a president next year.
“I am absolutely thrilled for Justice Kelly on her appointment,” McCarthy said in the society’s news release. “While it is a loss for the Barristers’ Society not to have her complete her presidential year, we were exceptionally well-served by her leadership over the past year and a half.”
