Plenary Session 5

The Honourable George R. Strathy was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario on April 25, 2013, and was subsequently appointed as Chief Justice of Ontario and President of the Court of Appeal for Ontario on June 13, 2014.

For the previous five years, he served as a judge of the Superior Court of Justice in the Toronto Region, where he presided over civil, class action and criminal matters. He was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on December 13, 2007.

Chief Justice Strathy received a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1970 and a Master of Arts from the University of Toronto in 1971. He studied law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law where he received his LL.B. in 1974 and was awarded the Gold Medal. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1976.

In practice, he specialized in civil litigation, with an emphasis on maritime and transportation law. He was active in a number of professional organizations, including the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Maritime Law Association and the Canadian Association of Maritime Arbitrators. He is the author of two books on maritime law, as well as numerous papers and articles.

The Honourable Mr. Justice Michael H. Tulloch is a judge on the Court of Appeal for Ontario, a position he has held since his appointment in June 2012 following nine years on the Superior Court of Justice. Prior to Mr. Justice Tulloch's appointment to the Court, he was appointed an Assistant Crown Attorney in 1991 where he worked both in Peel and Toronto. In 1995, Justice Tulloch entered private practice, specializing in criminal law. He continued in this practice until his appointment to the Bench in 2003.

Over the years, Justice Tulloch has been very actively involved in post secondary education as well as numerous community organizations. He is a current member of the Board of Directors of the Osgoode Society on Legal History. Justice Tulloch is a former Lecturer and Don for York University, where he is an alumnus. He still sits on the Board of Directors for the Alumni Association. As well, he is an Academic Fellow of McLaughlin College as well as Vanier College, York University and a member of the Advisory Board to the Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School.

In 2011, he was also appointed a Distinguished Research Fellow for the Centre of Law and Policy at Ryerson University. Justice Tulloch is the recipient of two Honorary Doctorate Degrees, one a Doctor of Laws from the University of Guelph and the other a Doctor of Theology for Tyndale University and Seminary, as well as numerous other community awards. On the Superior court, Justice Tulloch was a member of Chief's Education committee and he was Co-Chair of two of the courts Judicial Education Conference for Fall 2010 and Spring 2011.

The Honourable Harry S. LaForme is Anishinabe and a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation located in southern Ontario. He was born and raised mainly on his reserve where some of his family continue to reside and remain active in that First Nation's government.

Justice LaForme graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1977 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1979. He articled with the law firm of Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt; joined the firm as an associate; and, after a brief time commenced his own practice specializing in Indigenous law. During his legal practice Justice LaForme focused on matters involving the Constitution and the Charter. He has appeared before each level of Canadian Court, travelled extensively throughout Canada, and represented Canadian Indigenous interests in Geneva Switzerland, New Zealand, and the British Parliament.

Justice LaForme served as: co-chair of the independent National Chiefs Task Force on Native Land Claims; Chief Commissioner of the Indian Commission of Ontario; Chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Land Claims; and taught the "Rights of Indigenous Peoples" at Osgoode Hall Law School. In January 1994 he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice, Ontario and was – at that time - one of only 3 indigenous judges ever appointed to this level of trial court in Canada. In November 2004 he was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal and is the first indigenous person to be appointed to sit on any appellate court in the history of Canada – he retired in October 2018.

Justice Todd Ducharme has a B.A. from McGill University, an M.A. from Yale University, an LL.B. from the University of Toronto, and an LL.M. from Yale Law School.

Justice Ducharme was appointed to the Superior Court of Ontario in May, 2004 as only the second Metis on the Court. He has since been appointed a Deputy Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories (February 15, 2007); of the Supreme Court of Yukon (June 18, 2009); and the Nunavut Court of Justice (September 9, 2009). On April 13, 2021, Justice Ducharme was appointed to the Specific Claims Tribunal as a part-time member for a term of five years.

Prior to his appointment as a Judge, Justice Ducharme was active in Toronto’s Aboriginal Community. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Anishnawbe Health Toronto from 1993 to 1995. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Native Child and Family Services from 1993 to 2004, serving as Vice-President from 1996 to 2000.

Justice Ducharme lives in Toronto with his wife, Laurie Pawlitza, a former Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada, their Newfoundland dog, Humphrey, and two cats, Maggie and Lucy.

The Honourable Shaun Nakatsuru is a University of Toronto Law School Graduate. He was called to the bar in 1988. He has experience, both in the private sector and in government. He has practiced in criminal and public law as a defence lawyer, as a regulatory prosecutor for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and as a constitutional/human rights lawyer for the Ministry of the Attorney General. In addition, he has sat as a legal member of the Ontario Review Board dealing with accused who have been found unfit or not criminally responsible. He has argued cases at all levels of court including at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Justice Nakatsuru was appointed in 2006 to the Ontario Court of Justice sitting in the Toronto Region. Since 2013, Justice Nakatsuru has been the coordinator of the indigenous court or Gladue court at Old City Hall Courthouse.

In 2017, Justice Nakatsuru was appointed to the Superior Court of Justice for Ontario.

He has also been involved in teaching, having taught Advanced Criminal Law at the University of Toronto Law School and Trial Advocacy at Osgoode Hall Law School. Currently, he is an adjunct in the Part-Time LLm program at the Osgoode Professional Development Program in Constitutional Law teaching legal rights and Trial Advocacy at University of Toronto Law School.

Justice Lori Anne Thomas was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 2020.

Before her appointment, Her Honour was a sole practitioner specializing in criminal defence and a course developer and instructor at the Ryerson Law Practice Program.

Justice Thomas is a former president of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers. As President, she expanded the organization's roles, leading it to its first intervention at the Supreme Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal. Further, she advocated with the Federal Government on addressing laws that were discriminating against black Canadians.

In addition, she was elected to the Criminal Lawyers' Association Board for three terms. In that role, she advocated for the recognition of discrimination and exclusion of racialized members.

As a lawyer, Justice Thomas managed a program that assisted unrepresented individuals on Summary Conviction appeals.

Justice Thomas graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2008. She comes from a single-parent household and is the first person in her family to attend university.