Meet the Judges
Mr. Justice Kilpatrick
Mr. Justice Kilpatrick graduated in Law from the University of British Columbia in 1980 and was called to the Bar of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory in 1981. He was also called to the Bar of the Northwest Territories in 1992.
Mr. Justice Kilpatrick first practiced law as a sole practitioner, in Whitehorse. From 1988-1992, he had a criminal defence practice with the firm of Veale, Kilpatrick, Austring and Farkvam, in Whitehorse. From 1992-1998, he was Crown Counsel with the Department of Justice of Canada in Inuvik. Prior to his appointment to the bench in 1999, Mr. Justice Kilpatrick had been Administrative Crown Counsel with the Ministry of the Attorney General in Smithers, British Columbia.
Mr.
Justice Kilpatrick was appointed Judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice in 1999 and was appointed its Senior Judge, effective October 1, 2009.
Mr.
Justice Johnson
Mr. Justice Johnson obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Bishop's University in 1968 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick in 1971. After completing his articles in New Brunswick he practiced law in Saint John and Fredericton before moving to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in 1974 to work with the Government of the Northwest Territories. He went into private practice in 1976 and practiced law in Yellowknife until 1997.
In 1997, Mr. Justice Johnson became Senior Legal Counsel with the Legal Division of the Government of the Northwest Territories in Yellowknife where he was primarily responsible for major litigation involving the Government of the Northwest Territories. He represented the Government in constitutional and jurisdictional matters as well as defending sexual abuse claims. Mr. Justice Johnson is also experienced in mediation and Alternate Dispute Resolution. He is a former Chair of the Labour Standards Board of the Northwest Territories and served as Law Clerk to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories (1980-1981). Mr. Justice Johnson was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1992. He was appointed a Judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice in 1999.
Mr. Justice Sharkey
Mr. Justice Sharkey received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan in 1975.
He was admitted to the Bar of Saskatchewan in 1976, to the Northwest Territories Bar in 1983 and
Nunavut Bar in 1999. Mr. Justice Sharkey was a Crown Prosecutor for the Attorney General of
Saskatchewan from 1978 to 1979, a legal aid staff lawyer with Saskatchewan Legal Aid from 1979 to 1981
and an associate with Rees, Newsham & Co. from 1981 to 1983. He was Crown Counsel for the Attorney General
of Canada from 1983 to 1985,
Executive Director with Maligniik Tukisiniakvik from 1985 to 1999 and practised with Iqaluit Law
Chambers since 2005. Mr. Justice Sharkey has developed an expertise in criminal appeals and major
criminal cases.
He was appointed a Judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice in December 2008.
Madam Justice Cooper
Madam Justice Cooper received a Bachelor of Science in 1983 and Bachelor of Laws in 1987 from
the University of Alberta. She was called to the Northwest Territories Bar in 1988, the Alberta Bar in 1990
and the Nunavut Bar in 1999. Madam Justice Cooper was an associate at the law firm of Cooper Johnson in
Yellowknife from 1988 to 1992 and practised as a sole practitioner in Yellowknife from 1992 to 1993 and in
Iqaluit from 1993 to 1998. She was a partner at Chandler & Cooper from 1998 to the date of her appointment.
From 1999 to the appointment, she was the first Law Clerk to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. Her main
practice areas include criminal, family, civil, child protection, municipal, administrative, employment and
parliamentary law.
Madam Justice Cooper is a member of the Law Society of Nunavut, the Law Society of Northwest Territories, the Canadian Council of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Federation of Law Societies and the Canadian Council of Administrative Tribunals. She was Vice-Chair of the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal and the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Safety and Compensation Commission, Appeals Tribunal. She is a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. She was appointed a Judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice in December 2009.
Madam Justice Browne (Senior Judge, 1999-2009)
Madam Justice Browne graduated in Law from the University of Alberta in 1975 and was called to the Bar of Alberta and of the Northwest Territories in 1976. She articled with the law firm of Searle Sigler, in Yellowknife and practiced there for one year after completing articles. Madam Justice Browne also practiced law with the firms of Wright, Chivers & Company and of Freeland, Royal, McCrum & Browne, in Edmonton. Prior to being appointed to the Northwest Territories Court in Iqaluit, in 1990, Madam Justice Browne had been a sole practitioner in Vermilion, since 1982.
Madam Justice Browne was appointed on January 11, 1999 to the Supreme Court of Nunavut, to become effective on April 1, 1999. As Bill C-57 was enacted on March 11th, 1999, thereby creating the Nunavut Court of Justice, Madam Justice Browne was appointed to this Court as its first Senior Judge. Effective October 2009, Madam Justice Browne was appointed Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.
Judges of the Court of Appeal of Nunavut
Chief Justice Catherine Frazer
Justice Ronald Berger
Justice Carole Conrad
Justice Peter Costigan
Justice Jean Coté
Justice Adelle Fruman
Justice Constance Hunt
Justice J.Edward Richard
Justice Keith Ritter
Justice Anne Russell
Justice Virginia Schuler
Justice Ronald Veale
Justice John Vertes
Justice Neil Wittmann
Justice Peter Martin
Justice Clifton O’Brien
Justice Don Cooper
Justice Louise Charbonneau
Justice John MacDonald
Justice Marina Paperny
Justice Frans Slatter
Justice Jack Watson