Canada Justice Minister Announces B.C. Judicial Picks 8 March
The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit, and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.
The Honourable Heather MacNaughton, a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, is appointed a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia in Vancouver. Justice MacNaughton replaces Justice D.C. Harris, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective January 1, 2025.
Julia E. Lawn, Partner at Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver. Justice Lawn replaces Justice H. MacNaughton (Vancouver) who was elevated to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia effective March 7, 2025.
“I wish Justices MacNaughton and Lawn every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve the people of British Columbia well as members of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia and the Supreme Court of British Columbia.”
-The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Justice Heather MacNaughton earned her LLB and LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1984 and to the Bar of British Columbia in 2010.
Prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2016, Justice MacNaughton had been a Master at the Supreme Court of British Columbia since 2011. She was Chair of British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal from 2000-2010. She was Chair and Vice-Chair of Ontario Human Rights Board of Inquiry and Chair and Vice-Chair of Ontario Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal from 1995-2000. She practiced at Lang Michener from 1984-1995. Her practice focused on all aspects of commercial litigation, labour, and employment law. She handled cases before all levels of courts and tribunals in Ontario and as a junior before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Justice Julia E. Lawn was born in Brockville, Ontario and grew up in Prescott, Ontario, but has been an adopted British Columbian for most of her adult life. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Trinity College (BA: 1991) and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (LLB: 1997), where she was a Grand Mooter among other honours. She was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1998, after clerking at the British Columbia Supreme Court.
Justice Lawn was a partner at the Vancouver commercial litigation boutique of Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP for eighteen years, where she specialized in legal research and served in a management capacity.
Justice Lawn has served as a director on the boards of the British Columbia Law Institute and the Mulgrave Independent School Society. She co-chaired the 2023 Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (CLEBC) conference on Legal Research, focusing on emerging issues around artificial intelligence. She has written articles on injunctions and on section 8 of the Charter, and she is the author of two chapters of Government Liability: Law and Practice (Horsman JA and Morley J, eds).
Justice Lawn is married to Justice David Crerar of the Supreme Court of British Columbia and is the mother of four children.
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2025/03/minister-of-justice-and-attorney-general-of-canada-announces-judicial-appointments-in-the-province-of-british-columbia0.html