Manon Savard

Manon Savard is a Canadian jurist who has served as Chief Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal. She has held senior judicial and legal positions within institutions across Quebec and Canada, contributing to case law in areas touching on constitutional, administrative, and civil matters. Savard's career intersects with multiple legal actors and bodies in Canadian public life.

Early life and education

Savard was born and raised in Quebec, attending institutions that connect to figures and places such as Université de Montréal, McGill University, Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, Concordia University and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her formative training linked her to programs and persons associated with the Bar of Quebec, the Canadian Bar Association, the Institut de recherches en droit privé, the Department of Justice Canada, and judiciary networks including the Supreme Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Canada. During her studies she engaged with curricula influenced by doctrine from authors and jurists linked to schools such as Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Oxford University, Cambridge University, and comparative law scholars tied to Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Université de Lyon. Her legal admission placed her within the professional milieu of notable Quebec legal practitioners and bench figures like former chief justices and appellate judges connected to the Quebec Court of Appeal and provincial tribunals.

Legal career

Savard practised law in contexts that interfaced with prominent firms and organizations such as Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, Blake, Cassels & Graydon, Stikeman Elliott, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg, and boutique chambers linked to litigators who appear before tribunals including the Cour supérieure du Québec and the Tribunal administratif du Québec. Her practice included litigation and advisory work touching on statutes and regimes like the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Civil Code of Quebec, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and regulatory frameworks involving agencies such as the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail and the Office de la protection du consommateur. She appeared before panels staffed by commissioners and counsels with connections to institutions such as Justice Canada, the Quebec Ministry of Justice, and municipal legal services for bodies like the City of Montreal and the Government of Quebec.

Judicial appointments and service

Savard's elevation to the bench placed her within the lineage of jurists who have served on courts including the Quebec Superior Court, the Quebec Court of Appeal, and tribunals that interact with the Federal Court of Appeal. Her appointment processes involved executive and advisory actors such as the Prime Minister of Canada, the Governor General of Canada, the Minister of Justice (Canada), and selection committees akin to those that recommended other appointees to the Supreme Court of Canada. As Chief Justice she administered responsibilities parallel to those held by counterparts at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Alberta Court of Appeal, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, and the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, collaborating with registrars, clerks, and administrative judges linked to the Canadian Judicial Council and the Conférence des juges de juridiction supérieure du Québec.

Notable rulings and jurisprudence

In her written opinions and decisions, Savard engaged with precedents and authorities including jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada such as rulings touching on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and doctrines established in landmark cases comparable to holdings by justices who authored opinions in matters before panels involving the Quebec Secularism Law (Bill 21), disputes analogous to those in R v Oakes, Carter v Canada (Attorney General), Saskatchewan (Human Rights Commission) v Whatcott, and other appellate authorities. Her judgments interact with legal themes present in cases from provinces and territories represented by courts like the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Manitoba Court of Appeal, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, and the Yukon Court of Appeal. Decisions authored or joined by her reference statutory interpretation principles paralleling submissions seen before bodies such as the Superior Court of Quebec, the Federal Court, and administrative tribunals including the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and the Competition Tribunal.

Professional affiliations and honours

Savard has been associated with professional networks and organizations including the Bar of Quebec, the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Judicial Council, the Québec branch of the Canadian Bar Association, and academic collaborations with law faculties at Université de Montréal, McGill University, Université Laval, and research institutes like the Institut d'études constitutionnelles. Her honours and recognitions align with awards and distinctions that are counterparts to prizes granted by bodies such as the Order of Canada, provincial orders like the Ordre national du Québec, bar association medals, and honorary degrees conferred by universities including Concordia University and Laval University. She participates in conferences and panels alongside jurists, scholars, and administrators from entities like the International Commission of Jurists, the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, and the National Judicial Institute.

Category:Canadian judges Category:Judges in Quebec