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New Justices of the Peace Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice

February 21, 2020

Attorney General


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Ontario has appointed 10 new justices of the peace to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective February 27, 2020.

Justice of the Peace Robert Stuart Gordon Brain has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor. He was called to the bar in Ontario in 2002. Justice of the Peace Brain has worked as the Chief Legal Officer for a variety of publicly traded companies over the past 17 years, most recently as Vice President of Legal Services at Enghouse Software Limited. He has also worked with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Reserves since 1989 and has served as Major and Deputy Judge Advocate at the Office of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the CAF since 2003. His volunteer work includes sitting on the building committee of Habitat for Humanity and serving as a board member at the John Cooper Learning Centre, which supports children with learning disabilities and other challenges. In 2017, Justice of the Peace Brain received the JAG Award of Excellence from the CAF.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace Brain to Toronto.

Justice of the Peace Susan Colleen Double has worked as the administrator of the Hamilton Police Service's Victim Services Branch since 2008. In this role, she managed and provided strategic direction for the branch, reviewed sexual assault cases and implemented the Sexual Assault Support Program. She previously held the role of assistant coordinator of the Ministry of the Attorney General's Victim/Witness Assistance Program. She is the secretary of the LGBTQ Internal Support Network at the HPS and a member and past chair of the Hamilton Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition. In 2016, she received the Order of Merit of the Police Forces from the Governor General of Canada.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace Double to Brampton.

Justice of the Peace Harley D'Août Gervais has been a member of the Ontario Bar since 2019 and a member of the Québec Bar since 2003. She has been the deputy director of the Association of French Speaking Jurists of Ontario (AJEFO) since 2019. She worked as legal advisor to the Chief Justice and the Committee on Rules in the Federal Court. Prior to this, she worked as a legal advisor at the Supreme Court of Canada. Her volunteer work includes advising Children Now, a research and advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to improving children's health.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace D'Août Gervais to Ottawa.

Justice of the Peace Laura Yvette Gorczynski Plate has worked as a chief instructor at the Ontario Police College since 2017, where she oversaw programs in standardized field sobriety testing and approved drug screening equipment. Her role included developing and executing a provincial police training initiative to address cannabis legalization. Prior to this, she worked for 16 years as a forensic scientist in toxicology at the Centre for Forensic Sciences, and was an adjunct professor at Laurentian University. She serves as a committee member of arrive alive DRIVE SOBER and provides online mentorship to young women as part of the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace Gorczynski Plate to Kitchener.

Justice of the Peace Gloria Ann Kovach is a registered nurse who has worked as a competency evaluation expert and examiner for the Touchstone Institute since 2012. In this role, she developed competency assessments and clinical exams for internationally educated nurses. Prior to this, she worked as a clinical nursing supervisor at ParaMed and was Director of Operations, Regional Services at Homewood Health Centre in Guelph. She is a former Guelph city councillor and held that position for 24 years. She currently serves as a director for the Guelph Humane Society and member of the capital fundraising campaign and volunteered with Guelph Community Health Centre's program The SEED to support communities facing food insecurity.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace Kovach to Kitchener.

Justice of the Peace Emma Sims has worked as a paralegal at the firm Cohen Highley LLP since 2002. In 2019, she was appointed as a member of the Landlord and Tenant Board. She also worked as a part-time professor in the paralegal program at Fanshawe College. Justice of the Peace Sims has volunteered with the London Property Management Association since 2005, where she has served as its director and president. Justice of the Peace Sims has also delivered seminars on continuing professional development to the Law Society of Ontario.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace Sims to London.

Justice of the Peace Shari Lynne St. Peter has held the role of executive director of the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management Board since 2013. In this position, she oversees the operations of six Indigenous youth employment and training offices across southwestern Ontario. Her volunteer work includes serving as the director of the board for the De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre, director of the Adult Basic Education Association board and director of the Hamilton Executive Directors Aboriginal Coaliton board. Justice of the Peace St. Peter holds a Masters in Criminology from the University of Toronto. 

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace St. Peter to St. Catharines.

Justice of the Peace Tammy Waugh has worked as a provincial Crown prosecutor for the Ministry of the Attorney General in Middlesex County since 2007. Prior to this, she worked as office manager at the Middlesex County Crown Attorney's office. Since 2015, she has worked as a lecturer at the Middlesex Law Association, where she has presented annual seminars on the Provincial Offences Act. Justice of the Peace Waugh is an active member of Kin Canada and has held the role of Director of Risk Assessment for her local Kinette Club.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace Waugh to London.

Justice of the Peace Sheldon Walter Weekes has worked as the manager of court operations at the Ministry of the Attorney General since 2016. Prior to this, he was operations manager at the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, where he supervised over 500 correctional officers. He previously worked as a correctional officer managing adult and young offenders. In 2018, he received a commendation letter for leadership in court staffing from the Ministry of the Attorney General. Justice of the Peace Weekes has a Master of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace Weekes to Brampton.

Justice of the Peace Krista Whittard has been a manager of the Niagara Region Mental Health Program, Public Health and Emergency Services Niagara Region since 2011, where she provided clinical supervision to staff, monitored treatment plans and led program development. In this role, she implemented programs on early intervention for youth, geriatric mental health and early psychosis intervention. Prior to that, Justice of the Peace Whittard worked as a clinical team leader at the Pine River Institute and as a child and youth social worker with Georgian Bay Family Health Team. Justice of the Peace Whittard received her Masters of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1998.

Associate Chief Justice-Coordinator of Justices of the Peace Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice of the Peace Whittard to Milton.


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Media Contacts

Jenessa Crognali
Minister’s Office
jenessa.crognali@ontario.ca

Brian Gray
Communications Branch
416-326-2210
mag-media@ontario.ca