The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment 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 Karan M. Shaner, a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, is appointed a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Alberta in Edmonton. Justice Shaner replaces Justice M. Crighton (Edmonton), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective November 1, 2023.
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"I wish Justice Shaner every success as she takes on her new role. I am confident she will serve Albertans well as a member of the Court of Appeal of Alberta".
-The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Biography
Justice Karan M. Shaner was appointed to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories in 2011. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary in 1986 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta in 1990. She was admitted to the Northwest Territories Bar in 1991.
At the time of her appointment to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, Justice Shaner had been with the Department of Justice of the Government of Northwest Territories since 1996. She was Assistant Deputy Minister from 2008 to 2011; Director, Legal Division from 2003 to 2007; and legal counsel from 1996 to 1999 and from 2001 to 2003. She was an associate with Johnson, Gullberg, Wiest and MacPherson (now Lawson, Lundell) from 1991 to 1996. In addition to her management roles, her main areas of practice were labour law, human rights, administrative law, and general litigation. Since 2019, she has been the judicial nominee of the Chief Justice of the Northwest Territories for the Federal Judicial Advisory Committee for Northwest Territories.
