QUEBEC JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA, May 18, 2010 – The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments:

The Honourable Serge Francoeur, judge of the Court of Québec (Provincial Court) is appointed as judge of the Superior Court of Quebec (Baie-Comeau and Mingan) to replace Mr. Justice P. Corriveau, who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of May 22, 2010.

Mr. Justice Francoeur received a Bachelor of Civil Laws (LL.L.) in 1977 and a Masters in Labour Law in 1979 from University of Ottawa. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1979.

Mr. Justice Francoeur was appointed to the Court of Quebec (Provincial Court) in 2005. He was an associate and partner with Savard Nadeau (1979-2005). His main areas of practice were labour relations, native law, civil law, matrimonial and commercial law. He has extensive litigation experience and has appeared before quasi-judicial tribunals and other courts, including the Quebec Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Justice Francoeur was the President of the Quebec Bar (1997-1998). He has also lectured at the Cégep de Baie-Comeau and for various other professional groups.

This appointment is effective as of May 22, 2010.

The Honourable Alain Michaud, a partner with the firm Michaud LeBel in Québec, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec (Québec) to replace Madam Justice D. Blondin, who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of March 28, 2010.

Mr. Justice Michaud received a Bachelor of Civil Law (LL.L.) from Université Laval in 1979. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1980.

Mr. Justice Michaud had been a partner of Michaud LeBel since 2003. He was a partner with Beauvais Truchon (1993-2003), Grondin Poudrier Bernier (1989-1993) as well as an associate and partner with Tremblay Bois Mignault Lemay (1980-1989). His main areas of practice include civil litigation, damage claims, insurance law, civil and professional liability.

Mr. Justice Michaud was a member of the Canadian Bar Association and various subcommittees, including the Provincial Executive (1983-1993), the National Executive (1991-1993), the Board of Directors of the CBA Insurance Association (2001-2007) and the Executive Committee (2003-2007). He was on the Quebec Bar Foundation Board of Directors (2001-2004) and the Quebec Bar Indemnity Foundation (1991-1993), and appeared in Best Lawyers in Canada (2006 and 2008 editions). He was also Vice-President of the Fondation de l'École des Ursulines de Québec (2001-2005).

The Honourable Johanne April, a lawyer with the firm of Rioux, Bossé, Massé, Moreau & Associates in Rivière-du-Loup, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec (Québec) to replace Mr. Justice J.-C. Beaulieu, who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of May 9, 2010.

Madam Justice April received a Bachelor of Civil Laws (LL.L.) from Université Laval in 1981 and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1982. She has been a lawyer with Rioux, Bossé, Massé, Moreau & Associates since 1982. Her main areas of practice include civil litigation, family and municipal law.

Madam Justice April was a member of various committees on the Quebec Bar, including the Motions Committee (2001-2005) and the Administration Committee (2002-2003). She was the Quebec Bar's local president for the Lower Saint-Lawrence region (1997-1999).

Madam Justice April was President of Collège Notre-Dame de Rivière-du-Loup and of the Centre culturel de Rivière-du-Loup since 1996. She has been a member of the Association of Family Law Practitioners since 1993 and an active member of Saint-François-Xavier Parish.

Unless other otherwise noted, these appointments are effective immediately.

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Ref.:

• Pamela Stephens
  Press Secretary
  Office of the Minister of Justice
  613-992-4621

• Media Relations
  Department of Justice
  613-957-4207