The Canadian Judges’ Forum was created in 1995 to provide a forum for judges from all levels of court to come together, share and learn from one another. As an executive committee we work hard to provide our members with opportunities to do just that.
Each year at the CBA Legal Conference we work with the Canadian Superior Court Judges Association to offer programming for judges as part of Judges’ Day. We also host a reception at which time we take a few moments to recognize and honour one of our colleagues. I would invite you to join us in Calgary on Friday, August 14 to help celebrate and recognize this year’s very worthy recipient. You can read more about our colleague in the Spotlight in this newsletter.
Over the years, the Forum has developed a number of products for its members including the Judicial Independence videos for use in high schools and, more recently, the Court Security in Canada Guide, which is available on the Canadian Judges’ Forum webpage. This year we were fortunate to have received funding from Law for the Future Fund to create a Tips for Courtroom Management checklist for judges. Work on this project is almost complete. The checklist will be launched at the CBA Legal Conference in Calgary. I think you will find it to be a very practical and helpful tool.
We continue to look for opportunities to develop products that will help make your job easier. We would love to hear from you with ideas and suggestions for future projects or programs. Please write to us c/o our CBA Staff Liaison, Jennifer Lalonde, at jennifer@cba.org.
Finally, I would like to leave you with a thought on membership. Membership in the CBA offers you many benefits. Not only does it provide you with access to the products we develop and the opportunities to network with colleagues from all levels of court, but it also offers you the opportunity to support an organization that comes to the defence of the judiciary when needed. The CBA ’s Judicial Compensation and Benefits Committee makes regular submissions to federal quadrennial compensation commissions, emphasizing the importance of judicial independence. The ongoing support the CBA provides to the compensation process is valuable and appreciated. As judges, we often do not have an ability to defend ourselves and our courts when the media or the public decide that they don’t agree with something we may have done. The CBA is our voice in these instances. It speaks for us when we must remain silent.
I encourage all of you who are reading to join or to renew your CBA membership in order to help to make this association a stronger voice for the entire justice system.
About the Author
The Hon. Shelagh Creagh is a provincial court judge with the Provincial Court of Alberta.
Canadian Judges’ Forum Executive/ Comité executif du Forum des juges canadiens
1st Co-Chair / 1re coprésident
William Herbert Goodridge - Supreme Court of Nfld & Labrador - Trial Division
309 Duckworth St
PO Box 937 Stn C
St. John's, NL A1C 5M3
Tel (709) 729-4030
Fax (709) 729-4580
WilliamGoodridge@supreme.court.nl.ca
2nd Co-Chair / 2e coprésidente
Shelagh R. Creagh - Provincial Court of Alberta
500-1A Sir Winston Churchill Sq NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 0R2
Tel (780) 427-7817
Fax (780) 422-3010
shelagh.creagh@albertacourts.ca
Vice-Chair / Vice-président
Theodore K. Tax - Provincial Court of Nova Scotia
200-277 Pleasant St
Dartmouth, NS B2Y 3S2
TaxTK@gov.ns.ca
Secretary-Treasurer / Sécretaire-trésorier
Robert L. Barnes - Federal Court/Cour fédérale
90 Sparks St
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H9
Tel (613) 947-4668
Fax (613) 995-9251
robert.barnes@fct-cf.ca
Past Chair / Président sortant
Frank P. Hoskins - Provincial Court of Nova Scotia
277 Pleasant St
Dartmouth, NS B2Y 3S2
Tel (902) 424-2390
hoskinfp@gov.ns.ca
Executive Members / Membres de l’Exécutif
Eric Downs - Cour du Québec
1 rue Notre-Dame E , bureau 5.39
Montréal, QC H2Y 1B6
Tel (514) 393-2583
Fax (514) 873-8950
Sheilah L. Martin - Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
601 5 St SW
Calgary, AB T2P 5P7
Tel (403) 297-2185
Fax (403) 297-8625
martins@just.gov.ab.ca
Staff Liaison / Personne ressource
Jennifer Lalonde - CBA
500-865 Carling Ave
Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8
Tel (613) 237-2925 x141
Fax (613) 237-0185
jennifer@cba.org