The Honourable Jeanne E. Watchuk, a judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver, to replace Mr. Justice I.H. Pitfield, who resigned effective June 30, 2010.
Madam Justice Watchuk received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1971 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1973 from the University of Alberta. She was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1974.
Madam Justice Watchuk was appointed to the Provincial Court of British Columbia in 1994. Prior to her appointment, she was a tax lawyer with Bull, Housser and Tupper from 1989 to 1994. She practised tax litigation and tax planning with Angus, McClellan, Rubenstein & Haslam from 1986 to 1989, with Barbeau, McKercher and Collingwood from 1983 to 1985 and worked in the Vancouver Regional Office of the Department of Justice practising civil and tax litigation from 1977 to 1983. She was counsel for the Legal Aid Society in Victoria in 1975-1976 and a general practitioner with Jones, Emery and Carfra in Victoria in 1974-1975. Her main areas of practice were tax litigation and more recently criminal law.
Madam Justice Watchuk has been Administrative Judge and Member of the Provincial Court Management Committee since 2008. She was a course co-ordinator with the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and a lecturer for the National Judicial Institute from 2007 to 2009. She was a member of the Provincial Court Judges Association, International Commission of Jurists and International Association of Women Judges.
The Honourable Murray B. Blok, District Registrar of the Supreme Court of British Columbia is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in New Westminster, to replace Mr. Justice G.R.J. Gaul, who was transferred to Victoria to replace Madam Justice J.L. Dorgan, who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of August 5, 2010.
Mr. Justice Blok received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1979 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1982 from the University of British Columbia. He was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1983.
Mr. Justice Blok has been a district registrar of the Supreme Court of British Columbia since 2002. He was a partner and associate with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin (formerly Russell & DuMoulin) from 1983 until 2002. His main areas of practice were family law, bankruptcy and insolvency, estates and trusts and civil procedure.
Mr. Justice Blok was an adjunct professor for the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia from 1989 to 1993. He was a member of the editorial board for a publication entitled "Practice Before the Registrar" (2003-2010). He is a published author and a frequent lecturer and speaker at numerous conferences. He has appeared before all Courts in British Columbia, in the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal and before various administrative tribunals.
