Advocacy-Matters-Fall-2021

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INTERVIEW Interview with The Honourable Justice Marie-Andrée Vermette, Superior Court of Justice Compiled by Daniel Baum, Langlois Avocats On March 3, <strong>2021</strong>, Marie-Andrée Vermette was appointed as Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario. Formerly a partner at WeirFoulds LLP specializing in commercial litigation and public law, Madam Justice Vermette served as Co-Chair of the TAS E-Hearings Task Force, and as vice-president of l’Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario. 20
Q. Early in your career, you clerked for Justice Gonthier at the SCC. How did that experience shape your view from the bench? A. I think that my clerkship experience has probably shaped my “view from the bench” in many different ways, but one important way in which it did is by providing me with an exceptional role model to strive to emulate. At his swearing-out ceremony, Chief Justice McLachlin (as she then was) described Justice Gonthier as a judge’s judge. His conduct was always beyond reproach. He was eminently respectful – to his colleagues, to counsel and, ultimately, to the parties before the court. He was keenly interested in almost every case that came before him and had a lot of compassion (this trait led him to write a number of articles on the concept of fraternity in the law toward the end of his career). He also showed a lot of humility and was prepared to have his mind changed. His intelligence, analytical mind, wisdom, patience, calm attitude, and listening skills were admirable. While I did not always agree with his conclusions, I always had an immense respect for him because he always reached his decisions in a principled manner and after very careful deliberation. Q. As former Co-chair of the TAS E-Hearings Task Force, what is the best advice you can give counsel appearing before you in an E-Hearing? A. Read the second edition of the Best Practices for Remote Hearings! I would add that while technical difficulties are sometimes unpredictable and impossible to avoid, counsel should do everything that they can to reduce the chances that they or their clients/witnesses will experience technical difficulties during a hearing. The Best Practices for Remote Hearings contain tips in this regard. Q. What are the biggest challenges facing the Court in dealing with the recent proliferation of E-Hearings? A. I think that one important challenge is access to justice for individuals who do not have reliable access to the Internet and/ or the tools that are required to participate in a remote hearing and file documents online. Q. Diriez-vous que votre bilinguisme (français et anglais) a été un atout pour vous dans le cadre de votre pratique? A. Je pense que le bilinguisme est toujours un atout. Certains exemples évidents sont l’interprétation des lois bilingues, la compréhension de décisions qui sont rédigées uniquement en français (du Québec ou d’ailleurs) et la représentation de clients francophones. Mon bilinguisme m’a aussi permis de créer des liens et de m’impliquer au sein de la communauté juridique francophone en Ontario, notamment au sein de l’AJEFO (l’Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario), ce qui a été une expérience très enrichissante. 21
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