Two new judges appointed to Court of Appeal and the other one to Superior Court
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti has announced the appointments of Jonathon George and Lise Favreau to the Court of Appeal for Ontario and Michael Valente to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario.
“I wish Justices George, Favreau, and Valente every success in their new roles,” Lametti said. “I know they will serve the people of Ontario well as members of the Court of Appeal and Superior Court of Justice.”
Called to the bar in 2001, Justice George is a former judge of the Ontario Superior Court in London. He replaces Justice Mahmud Jamal, who was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada on July 1, 2021.
An Ojibway of Pottawatomi descent, George worked at Robbins Henderson & Davis LLP from 2001 to 2012. He acted as a legal counsel for the Kettle and Stony Point Chief and Council and served as a special duty counsel at the Legal Aid Ontario, where he provided legal advice to the members of the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation.
He obtained his law degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1999.
Admitted to the bar in 1996, Justice Favreau is a former judge of the Ontario Superior Court in Toronto. She replaces Justice David Michael Brown, who became a supernumerary judge on September 14, 2021.
Favreau worked as an associate and a partner in the litigation department at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP. In 2003, she joined the Crown Law Office – Civil and represented the Crown at all levels of court, including the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2016, she was named general counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General.
She received her law degree from the University of Toronto in 1994.
Called to the bar in 1984, Justice Valente was a partner at Scarfone Hawkins LLP for 31 years. He replaces Justice James Sloan, who became a supernumerary judge on March 13, 2021.
Valente’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, particularly in bankruptcy and restructuring work. He is also a legal educator and a regular contributor to continuing education seminars.
He earned his law degree from the University of Ottawa in 1982. He also holds a Master of Laws degree, which he obtained from the Osgoode Hall Law School in 1999.
