OTTAWA,
ON, May 13, 2024 /CNW/ - The Honourable Arif
Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following
appointments under the judicial application process established in
2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit, and the
diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure
the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of
excellence and integrity.
Ira G. Parghi, a sole
practitioner in Toronto, is
appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Toronto. Justice
Parghi replaces Justice C.A.
Gilmore (Toronto), who
elected to become a supernumerary judge effective August 23, 2023.
Benita Wassenaar, Crown
Counsel at the Crown Law Office (Criminal) of the Ministry of the
Attorney General of Ontario in
Toronto, is appointed a Judge of
the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Toronto. Justice
Wassenaar replaces Justice T.
Ducharme (Toronto), who
elected to become a supernumerary judge effective October 1, 2023.
Quote
"I wish Justices Parghi and Wassenaar every success as they take
on their new roles. I am confident they will serve Ontarians well
as members of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario."
—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister
of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Biographies
Justice Ira G.
Parghi was born and raised in Kamloops and is the proud daughter of Indian
immigrants. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy (with
distinction) from
Stanford University, a Bachelor of
Laws from the University of Toronto,
and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard
University's Kennedy School
of Government. She was admitted to the bars of Ontario, New
York, and California.
Justice Parghi's practice
encompassed litigation and advisory work and spans several
jurisdictions. She has expertise in privacy and information law,
health regulatory law, tort law, digital health, and artificial
intelligence. She has spoken and published widely in these areas.
Her clients have included hospitals, health care facilities,
medtech companies, universities, research institutes, and
non-profits. She is an experienced adjudicator, having served for
many years as a Co-Chair of the University of
Toronto Tribunal. She is recognized in the Canadian Legal
Lexpert Directory. She has worked at Torys, Lax O'Sullivan Cronk
(now Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb), Borden
Ladner Gervais, Ropes & Gray, and INQ Law.
Justice Parghi has served the
legal profession and community as a member of the Canadian Blood
Services Research Ethics Board and the boards of directors of the
South Asian Bar Association – Toronto, South Asian Legal Clinic of
Ontario, and Gerstein Crisis
Centre. She has mentored dozens of lawyers, most of them racialized
and/or internationally trained.
Justice Benita
Wassenaar was born and raised in Toronto. She received an Honours degree in
Business Administration from Western
University and a Masters in Environmental Studies from
York University. She attended law
school at the University of British
Columbia and clerked at the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. She then articled at the
Crown Law Office – Criminal ("CLO-C"), part of the Ministry of the
Attorney General of Ontario. She
was called to the Bar of Ontario
in 2001.
Justice Wassenaar has been
counsel at CLO-C. She has appeared at every level of court in
Ontario. She has argued many
large, complex appeals in the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and has appeared as a party and
intervener in the Supreme Court of Canada. She held a number of administrative
and managerial roles at CLO-C, including Summer Student Program
Coordinator, Counsel to the Director, and Deputy Director. She was
a member of the F/P/T Heads of Prosecution sub-committee on the
Prevention of Miscarriages of Justice. In 2023, she was appointed
to the Death Investigation Oversight Council, an independent body
overseeing Ontario's death
investigation system.
Justice Wassenaar is deeply
committed to mentorship. She has been an articling principal to law
students and a mentor to lawyers. She ran an annual Crown school
course on Appellate Advocacy, taught Legal Research and Writing to
law students, assisted with a variety of moots, and volunteered
with the Ontario Justice Education
Network.
Justice Wassenaar enjoys spending
time with her husband, three wonderful children, and dog.
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada has
appointed more than 733 judges since November 2015. This includes 106 appointments
since the Honourable Arif Virani became Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of Canada on
July 26, 2023.These exceptional
jurists represent the diversity that strengthens Canada. Of these judges, more than half are
women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of
racialized persons, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+, and those who
self-identify as having a disability.
- To support the needs of the courts and improve access to
justice for all Canadians, the Government of Canada is committed to increasing the capacity
of superior courts. Budget 2022 provides for 22 new judicial
positions, along with two associate judges at the Tax Court of
Canada. Along with the 13
positions created under Budget 2021, this makes a total of 37 newly
created superior court positions. Since Budget 2017, the government
has funded 116 new judicial positions.
- Changes to the Questionnaire for Federal Judicial Appointments
were announced in September 2022. The
questionnaire continues to provide for a robust and thorough
assessment of candidates but has been streamlined and updated to
incorporate, among other things, more respectful and inclusive
language for individuals to self-identify diversity
characteristics.
- Federal judicial appointments are made by the Governor General,
acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet and recommendations
from the Minister of Justice.
- The Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada play a key role in evaluating judicial
applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each
province and territory represented.
- Significant reforms to the role and structure of the Judicial
Advisory Committees, aimed at enhancing the independence and
transparency of the process, were announced on October 20, 2016.
- The Government of Canada is
committed to promoting a justice system in which sexual assault
matters are decided fairly, without the influence of myths and
stereotypes, and in which survivors are treated with dignity and
compassion. Changes to the Judges Act and Criminal
Code that came into force on May 6,
2021, mean that in order to be eligible for appointment to a
provincial superior court, candidates must agree to participate in
continuing education on matters related to sexual assault law and
social context, which includes systemic racism and systemic
discrimination. The new legislation enhances the transparency of
decisions by amending the Criminal Code to require that
judges provide written reasons, or enter them into the record, when
deciding sexual assault matters.
SOURCE Department of Justice
Canada