Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces judicial appointments in the province of Quebec

Press Release

September 23, 2024

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.

Mathieu Piché-Messier, Partner and National Business Leader in Commercial Litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Piché-Messier replaces Justice P.H. Bélanger (Montréal), who resigned effective May 24, 2024.

Lysane Cree, Administrative Judge at the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière in Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Cree replaces Justice M. Lachance (Montréal), who was elevated to the Court of Appeal effective June 17, 2024.

Horia Bundaru, Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Bundaru replaces Justice K. Kear-Jodoin (Montréal), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective July 16, 2024.

Quote

“I wish Justices Piché-Messier, Cree, and Bundaru every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve Quebecers well as members of the Superior Court of Quebec.”

—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biographies

Justice Mathieu Piché-Messier was born and raised in Montreal. He obtained his Bachelor of Civil Law from the Faculty of Law of the Université de Sherbrooke in 1997. He was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1998.

Since 2000, Justice Piché-Messier has practised commercial litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais, where, after being named partner in 2006, he headed the Montreal Commercial Litigation Group for seven years, before being appointed National Business Leader—Commercial Litigation. His practice focused on extraordinary remedies and commercial litigation in the fields of anti-fraud, high technology, industrial espionage, privacy and identity theft, international arbitration, aeronautics, defamation, as well as intellectual property. As a litigator, author, and lecturer, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2018 and a Fellow of Litigation Counsels of America in 2021; he also received the Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) distinction from the Barreau du Québec in 2022. He has been recognized by his peers for appearing in editions of Chambers, The Best Lawyers, and Benchmark Litigation as one of Canada’s top 50 litigators.

Justice Piché-Messier was a member of the board of directors of the Barreau du Québec, the Montreal Bar, and the Canadian Bar Association—specifically the Quebec Branch. He was also President of the Centre d’accès à l’information juridique du Québec (CAIJ) and of the Young Bar Association of Montreal. Active in the Montreal community, he has been a member on the board of directors of Cirque Éloize, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Enfants-retour, and Make-a-Wish.

Justice Piché-Messier and his wife, Natacha Lavoie, are the proud parents of Vincent and Victoria.

Justice Lysane Cree is from the Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) Nation and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Northern Studies from McGill University in 1996, before obtaining a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Common Law from McGill University in 2000. She was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 2003 and subsequently, to the New York State Bar in 2012 and the Law Society of Ontario in 2020.

Justice Cree began her practice at Hutchins Legal Inc. and focused solely on indigenous law matters and working with First Nations governments in several provinces and occasionally in the State of New York for sixteen years. While still in private practice, she began working on a part-time basis in police ethics with the Comité de déontologie policière (now Tribunal), hearing cases involving indigenous police services in the province of Quebec. She then worked as a decision-maker at the Comité de discipline de la Chambre de la sécurité financière from 2019 to 2021 before becoming a full-time administrative judge at the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière. During this time, she was involved with the Canadian Council of Administrative Tribunals, as a member of both the Tribunal Excellence Committee and the Truth & Reconciliation Committee.

Justice Cree is an avid equestrian and enjoys spending time with her horses.

Justice Horia Bundaru immigrated to Canada at the age of eleven with his parents and younger sister. He obtained a B.C.L./LL.B. from the Faculty of Law of McGill University in 2005, and he was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 2006.

Justice Bundaru has spent his entire career at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, where he became a partner in 2016 and where, at the time of his appointment, he headed the Litigation Group in Montreal. A renowned litigator, his practice focused on commercial litigation, construction law and energy law. Since 2016, he has taught civil procedure and drafting at the École du Barreau.

Justice Bundaru has chaired the Quebec Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, the Liaison Committee of the Montreal Bar with the Superior Court of Quebec in the Civil Division, along with the Salon VISEZ DROIT. At the time of his appointment, he was President of the Liaison Committee with the Court of Appeal and a member of the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec. He is listed in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Benchmark Litigation Canada as a “Litigation Star,” Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers, The Legal 500 Canada and Best Lawyers in Canada. In 2022, he was named a Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers.

Justice Bundaru is passionate about literature, and he is an avid cross-country skier and tennis player. He and his wife Maya—also a lawyer—have two daughters: Ariane and Éloïse.

Quick facts

The Government of Canada has appointed more than 775 judges since November 2015. This includes 151 appointments since the Honourable Arif Virani became Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada on July 26, 2023, a pace of appointments that has no precedent in Canadian History. These exceptional jurists represent the diversity that strengthens Canada. Of these judges, more than half are women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of racialized persons, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+, and those who self-identify as having a disability.
To support the needs of the courts and improve access to justice for all Canadians, the Government of Canada is committed to increasing the capacity of superior courts. Budget 2022 provides for 22 new judicial positions, along with two associate judges at the Tax Court of Canada. Along with the 13 positions created under Budget 2021, this makes a total of 37 newly created superior court positions. Since Budget 2017, the government has funded 116 new judicial positions.
Changes to the Questionnaire for Federal Judicial Appointments were announced in September 2022. The questionnaire continues to provide for a robust and thorough assessment of candidates but has been streamlined and updated to incorporate, among other things, more respectful and inclusive language for individuals to self-identify diversity characteristics.
Federal judicial appointments are made by the Governor General, acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet and recommendations from the Minister of Justice.
The Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada play a key role in evaluating judicial applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each province and territory represented.
Significant reforms to the role and structure of the Judicial Advisory Committees, aimed at enhancing the independence and transparency of the process, were announced on October 20, 2016.
The Government of Canada is committed to promoting a justice system in which sexual assault matters are decided fairly, without the influence of myths and stereotypes, and in which survivors are treated with dignity and compassion. Changes to the Judges Act and Criminal Code that came into force on May 6, 2021, mean that in order to be eligible for appointment to a provincial superior court, candidates must agree to participate in continuing education on matters related to sexual assault law and social context, which includes systemic racism and systemic discrimination. The new legislation enhances the transparency of decisions by amending the Criminal Code to require that judges provide written reasons, or enter them into the record, when deciding sexual assault matters.

Contacts
For more information, media may contact:

Chantalle Aubertin
Deputy Director, Communications
Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General
613-992-6568
Chantalle.Aubertin@justice.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca

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