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 Geoffrey B. Gomery, 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 Gomery replaces Justice P. Voith, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective September 1, 2024.
Elin Sigurdson, K.C., Associate at Mandell Pinder LLP in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver. Justice Sigurdson replaces Justice G.B. Gomery (Vancouver), who was elevated to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia effective November 8, 2024.
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"I wish Justices Gomery and Sigurdson 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
Biographies
Justice Geoffrey B. Gomery was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2018. Upon receiving his LL.B. from the University of Toronto in 1983, he moved to Vancouver, where he articled and later practised law with Davis & Company. He was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 1984.
Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2018, Justice Gomery practised at Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP in 1990 and became a partner in 1992. In 2005, he took a leave of absence from his firm to pursue post-graduate studies at Oxford University, graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Law. He was appointed King's Counsel in 2010 and became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2018. His practice focused on commercial and administrative litigation, including class actions, pension litigation, commercial arbitration, professional discipline, shareholder disputes and securities matters.
Justice Elin Sigurdson, K.C., was born and raised in Vancouver. She earned her BA and LLB at the University of British Columbia, including a term studying abroad at the University of Leiden, Netherlands. She clerked at the British Columbia Court of Appeal and was called to the bar in 2007. In 2011 she completed an LLM at the University of California, Berkeley.
Justice Sigurdson articled at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin. She joined Arvay Finlay and worked with the late Joseph J. Arvay, KC. She practiced for several years with JFK Law LLP and joined Mandell Pinder LLP in 2016. Her work has been devoted to litigation of Aboriginal, constitutional, environmental and administrative law issues. She has also acted on diverse public law matters including Law Society investigations, First Nations governance issues, and a complex coroner's inquiry. The significant public interest cases that have taken her to the Supreme Court of Canada have sought to advance access to justice, respect for collective and individual rights, and protection of vulnerable people.
Justice Sigurdson has spoken frequently on subjects of constitutional law, Aboriginal rights, legal procedure, and the role of lawyers in the process of reconciliation.
Justice Sigurdson and her husband Chris live in Vancouver and have two wonderful children. She is grateful for her loving family and the brilliant close circle of friends with whom she shares a love of music and the arts.
