Trudeau announces nomination of Alberta judge Mary Moreau to Supreme Court

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is nominating Mary Moreau, chief justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta, to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is nominating Mary Moreau, chief justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta, to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Moreau has been in her current role since 2017, when an official biography noted she has presided over French and bilingual trials in Alberta, where she has been a judge since 1994.

This summer, Trudeau's office had said the independent advisory body that was tasked with finding a new Supreme Court justice would consider candidates who are "functionally bilingual."

Moreau, whose nomination will be subject to a special committee hearing on Nov. 2, has also been a member of the national advisory committee on judicial ethics.

The seat on the Supreme Court has been empty since Russell Brown announced his retirement in June, ending a probe by the Canadian Judicial Council into an allegation of misconduct.

The judicial council had been examining allegations from a January event in Arizona, where Brown was accused of being intoxicated and harassing a group of individuals, which he denies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2023.