Canadian Judicial Council completes review of matter involving the Honourable Marc St-Pierre

Ottawa, June 13, 2025 – A review panel constituted by the Canadian Judicial Council (Council) has completed its review and reached a decision in a matter involving Justice Marc St-Pierre of the Superior Court of Québec. The matter stemmed from a complaint alleging that Justice St-Pierre had made personal remarks about the complainant during a hearing to which the complainant was not a party, exceeding his duty of reserve and calling into question his judicial impartiality and neutrality, particularly with regard to the complainant.

Following a review of the complaint by a screening officer, the matter was referred to the Honourable J. C. Marc Richard, Chief Justice of New Brunswick, as the designated reviewing member in this matter. Following his own review of the file, Chief Justice Richard referred it to a review panel pursuant to section 95 of the Judges Act, and section 7.11(b) of the Council’s Review Procedures (2025).

After a thorough consideration of the matter, the review panel concluded that there was no basis on which Justice St-Pierre’s removal from office could be justified in the circumstances, nor could the complaint be dismissed. The review panel noted that Justice St-Pierre's words were contrary to the standards set out in the Ethical Principles for Judges (2021), particularly those relating to courtesy and respect. However, the review panel agreed that any assessment of impugned behaviour must take into account the entire context, including the judge's response to the complaint. In this case, Justice St-Pierre acknowledged that he had breached his duty of reserve and sincerely apologized. In addition, he took steps to ensure it would not reoccur and he attended a seminar on bias. The review panel therefore concluded that two measures of a private nature under section 102 of the Judges Act were appropriate in the circumstances.

The review panel was comprised of the Honourable Associate Chief Justice Larry Landry of the Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick, the Honourable Justice Miriam Maisonville of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and a member of the public, Ms. Julia Pavlenko.

A copy of the review panel’s full decision can be accessed from the Council’s website.

About the Canadian Judicial Council

The Council was created in 1971 by the Canadian Parliament to maintain and improve the quality of judicial services in Canada's superior courts. It has the power and duty to investigate complaints into the conduct of federally appointed judges. The Council is also responsible for the continuing education of judges, as well as for developing other tools and programs to maintain public confidence in the judicial system.

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Contact :
Krista Ferraro
Director of Communications and Strategic Issues Management 
Canadian Judicial Council 
info@cjc-ccm.ca