The Chief Justice of Canada, the high-ranking judge in Canada, will be paying a visit to Victoria along with two other Supreme Court of Canada justices as part of the court's 150th anniversary commemorations.
On Feb. 3 and 4, Chief Justice Richard Wagner and Justices Andromache Karakatsanis and Nicholas Kasire will be meeting with UVic and secondary school students, and holding a public forum at the Victoria Conference Centre to answer questions from the public on a wide variety of topics.
“We are delighted to welcome judges of the Supreme Court of Canada to Victoria and British Columbia,” said Chief Justice of B.C. Leonard Marchand in a news release. “The Court’s visit to Victoria will help foster a better understanding and appreciation of our judicial system, which upholds key principles such as transparency and access to justice for all.”
The first day will include the justices meeting with students and faculty members at the Faculty of Law at UVic, then at 3 p.m. they will participate in the free, town-hall-style event at the conference centre. They will later meet with members of the local legal community.
On the second day, they will meet with justice system participants and members of the local judicial community. And later they will travel to three secondary schools to meet with students and answer their questions about the Canadian judicial system.
The Supreme Court, established in 1875, is Canada’s final court of appeal and it's the highest court in the country. It has the final jurisdiction over disputes in every area of the law.
The Victoria stop will be the first of five stops in 2025 to commemorate the 150th anniversary milestone. They will also stop in Moncton, Thunder Bay, Sherbrooke and Yellowknife.
