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The Honourable David Lametti, 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.
Patricia J. Moore, Crown Attorney at the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario in Kitchener, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in London. Justice Moore fills one of the three new positions authorized further to the Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1.
Martha Ann Tweedie, Justice of the Peace at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, Family Court branch, in Kitchener. Justice Tweedie replaces Justice A. Pazaratz (Hamilton), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective December 15, 2021. The Chief Justice has transferred Justice J. Walters (Kitchener) into this vacancy. The vacancy is therefore located in Kitchener.
Kathleen P.M. Bingham, a sole practitioner in Hamilton, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, Family Court branch, in Welland. Justice Bingham replaces Justice C. Lafrenière (Hamilton), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective July 10, 2021. The Chief Justice has transferred Justice M.A. Kril (Welland) into this vacancy. The vacancy is therefore located in Welland.
I wish Justices Moore, Tweedie and Bingham every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the people of Ontario well as members of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario.
Justice Patricia J. Moore was raised on a farm in Southwest Middlesex, Ontario. She received her B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1992 and her L.LB. from the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario in 1995. She was called to the bar in 1997.
Justice Moore has spent her career as a Crown counsel. She worked as an assistant Crown attorney in Sudbury, London, and Kitchener. She became the Crown Attorney for the Region of Waterloo in 2019 where she managed an office of almost 30 assistant Crown attorneys. Her practice has involved trial and appellate work, including a province-wide organized crime prosecution.
Justice Moore has been very involved in her community. She has volunteered as a board member for Community Justice Initiatives, an organization focusing on restorative justice, and for KW Habilitation, a not-for-profit organization for children and adults with developmental disabilities. She was a member of the Family Violence Project Board of Directors, the Sexual Assault Response Team, and the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. She enjoyed bringing legal education to the greater community through the Ontario Justice Education Network, high school mock trials, Law Day, and the Braiding Diversity into Justice program, and by being a guest lecturer for the criminal law program at Wilfrid Laurier University.
In her free time, Justice Moore enjoys playing hockey, reading, travelling and spending time with her two teenage children.
Justice Martha Ann Tweedie was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. She received her BA in Economics from Huron College at the University of Western Ontario in 1990 and her LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario in 1993. She was called to the Ontario bar in 1995.
Justice Tweedie worked in private practice until 1998, when she began her lengthy career as legal counsel to children’s aid societies, first at the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa, and later at the Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton. In July 2021, she was appointed a justice of the peace of the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton. Through these professional experiences, Justice Tweedie has deepened her understanding of intersecting identities and how they inform the diverse needs of the communities she served.
Justice Tweedie served on many internal committees at child protection agencies and presented at several education programs for both legal and child protection professionals. She has volunteered extensively with young people, learning from their passion and fresh perspectives. She coached high school mock trial teams, presented in high school law classes, and was involved as a coach, trainer, and administrator for youth sports teams.
Justice Tweedie has three daughters and enjoys running, hiking, and appreciating the outdoors.
Justice Kathleen P.M. Bingham was born in Lindsay, Ontario, and obtained her undergraduate and law degrees from Queen’s University, where she was recognized for her academic and co-curricular achievements. She moved to Hamilton, Ontario, after completing her legal studies and was called to the Ontario bar in 2009.
Justice Bingham began her career as an associate at a multi-national firm practising primarily in the areas of civil and commercial litigation. In 2011, she pursued her long-standing interest in child protection and family law and went on to practise exclusively in these areas. Justice Bingham was a Certified Specialist in Family Law, an accredited family and child protection mediator, and a panel member for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. She recently acted as a dispute resolution officer with the Superior Court of Justice.
In addition to practising law, Justice Bingham was involved with the legal community as a Trustee of the Hamilton Law Association, Chair of the Family Law Subcommittee, un membre de L’Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario, and a member of the Hamilton Justice Education Network. In this committee work, she has arranged and presented at numerous continuing education events and organized experiential mock trials for elementary and secondary school students in Hamilton. She was also involved with the wider community and has been a member of the Board of Directors of Wesley Urban Ministries.
Justice Bingham, her husband, and their children enjoy going on outdoor adventures, especially hiking the Bruce Trail and backcountry canoe trips.
➟ At the Superior Court level, more than 525 judges have been appointed since November 2015. These exceptional jurists represent the diversity that strengthens Canada. Of these judges, more than half are women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of visible minorities, Indigenous, LGBTQ2+, and those who self-identify as having a disability.
➟ The Government of Canada is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 provides funding of $77.2 million over four years to support the expansion of unified family courts, beginning in 2019-2020. This investment in the family justice system will create 39 new judicial positions in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
➟ 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.
For more information, media may contact:
Chantalle Aubertin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-6568
Chantalle.Aubertin@justice.gc.ca
Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca
