SK establishes five new associate judge positions to address civil and family matter
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Sean Fraser announced judicial appointments in Alberta and Ontario. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan announced five associate judge positions at the Court of King’s Bench.
Fraser announced two appointments in Alberta and two in Ontario under the judicial application process established in 2016.
Alberta
In Alberta, Justice Thomas Rothwell moves from the Court of King's Bench to the Court of Appeal in Edmonton, replacing Justice Frans Slatter, who retired effective August 4, 2026.
Rothwell joined the Court of King's Bench in 2020. Before his judicial appointment, he served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada, practised with the Edmonton firm Reynolds, Mirth, Richards and Farmer LLP, and held positions with Alberta Justice, including Assistant Deputy Minister, Legal Services Division.
Justice Malcolm Lavoie succeeds Rothwell on the Court of King's Bench in Edmonton, effective October 7, 2026, following Rothwell's elevation.
Lavoie previously served as Alberta's Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General. He taught law at the University of Alberta from 2015 to 2024, served as associate counsel with Miller Thomson LLP and appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada. He is a former president of the Edmonton Bar Association. He also served on the Alberta Judicial Council and the board of the Centre for Constitutional Studies.
Ontario
In Ontario, Fraser announced the appointment of Paul Mongenais, a partner at Perras Mongenais in Kapuskasing, to the Superior Court of Justice in Sudbury.
Mongenais has primarily practised family law and has held specialist certification in that field since 2004. He has also served as a deputy judge of the Small Claims Court since 2017. He has organized or contributed to numerous legal education programs over the years, with a focus on producing French content.
Peter Ruby, a partner at Goodmans LLP, joins the Superior Court in Toronto. His practice focused on commercial litigation, arbitration, insolvency litigation and administrative law disputes, frequently involving technology-related issues. He was an active contributor to legal education, teaching internet law for many years at Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He also lectured extensively in Canada and internationally on technology law and other legal topics.
Ruby also served as president of the International Technology Law Association in 2023–2024. He was a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and co-chair of the North America Committee of the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Association. He also served as an arbitrator and mediator and was a roster member of Arbitration Place and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan announced the implementation of The King's Bench Amendment Act, 2026, establishing associate judges to increase the Court of King's Bench's capacity to handle civil and family matters.
The province appointed Louis Browne, Darcia Connelly and Rani Grewall in Regina, and Cynthia Yelland in Saskatoon. Regina-based Registrar in Bankruptcy Alexander Shalashniy also received an appointment as an associate judge.
The legislation authorizes provincial appointments based on recommendations from the Chief Justice and establishes a compensation commission and complaint review council.
"We are very pleased to welcome Saskatchewan's first associate judges," Justice M.D. Popescul said. "This is an important step in the ongoing modernization of our courts and will help support access to justice and the timely resolution of matters in a busy and increasingly complex court system."
All five appointees have maintained membership in good standing with a Canadian bar for at least 10 years.
