Ritu Khullar appointed Chief Justice of Alberta Supreme Court

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Alberta’s new Supreme Court justice is a rising star, modest A pioneer originating from one of the smallest communities in the state.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday announced Ritu Clar as the new Chief Justice of the Alberta Court of Appeals, filling the position vacated by the retirement of longtime Chief Justice Catherine Fraser earlier this year.

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Khullar, who is in her 50s, has risen rapidly through the judiciary, rising from judge to top appeals court in just five years.

Peter Sankoff, a criminal attorney and University of Alberta law professor, said he was “delighted” with the news and called Mr. Clarke the chief justice of the Court of Appeals.

“She has the perfect temperament as Chief Justice,” he said. “She is open-minded and intellectually curious. Ask questions designed to make it illegal.

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Khullar was the first South Asian judge in Alberta’s history when he was appointed to the then Queen’s Court in 2017, and the first to be appointed to the Canadian Court of Appeals when he was elevated the following year. A woman from South Asia.

Khullar’s parents immigrated to Canada from India in 1961, six years before Canada liberalized its immigration laws and opened itself to a wave of immigrants from South Asia. Her mother was Sikh and her father Hindu. After arriving in Canada, they settled in the small northern community of Crete, where they taught school in a Mennonite colony.

Khullar himself was born in a hospital in nearby Fort Vermillion. Fort Vermillion is a Peace River settlement tied to the title of Alberta’s oldest European settlement. His family eventually moved to Morinville, where Clare spent most of his childhood before enrolling at the University of Alberta. She studied political science and eventually decided to attend the University of Toronto Law School.

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From 1998 to 2017, Khullar worked at Chivers Greckol & Kanee, specializing in Labor & Employment, Privacy, Human Rights and Constitutional Law, eventually becoming a Managing Partner.

In a 2018 interview with then-Edmonton Journal columnist Paula Simmons, Khullar took offense at the idea of ​​herself as a role model for lawyers of South Asian descent.

“I think it’s weird,” she said with a laugh. “I am proud of my heritage. My parents are from India. But that doesn’t define me. I would never call myself South Asian.” I describe myself as Canadian.My parents raised us Canadian.Full stop.”

Sankoff said Khullar’s rapid rise to the top was normal, and that it was common in Alberta for those destined to appear in court of appeals to stop at first instance courts for at least a short period of time. Stated.

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As for her philosophy, “I found her to be very principled,” he said. “She believes in the rule of law and believes that correct legal outcomes come to the fore. It seems to me that the judge is unwilling to make a decision based on it.This is really a refreshing change.”

With state governments expected to submit a controversial sovereignty law on Tuesday, Sankov expects courts to file a number of high-profile constitutional lawsuits soon.

“Alberta has a lot of legal issues to resolve from a constitutional point of view and I think it will be done in the fairest way possible,” he said.

The retirement age for Chief Justices is 75. Mr. Khullar will also serve as Chief Justice of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

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