Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

WELCOMING A JUSTICE – New Yukon Supreme Court Justice Suzanne Duncan and Chief Justice Ron Veale embrace during Monday afternoon’s ceremony.

Judge sworn in before packed courtroom

The Yukon’s new Supreme Court justice was officially sworn in Monday afternoon.

By Gord Fortin on February 19, 2019

The Yukon’s new Supreme Court justice was officially sworn in Monday afternoon.

Many people filled the courtroom to witness Suzanne Duncan’s swearing-in ceremony.

There were speeches by Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee, Chief Justice Ron Veale, and others involved in the justice field.

Veale remarked that Duncan is the 12th justice appointed to the Supreme Court of the Yukon. She is also the fourth resident justice and second woman appointed to the court.

Duncan succeeds Leigh Gower, who died suddenly in 2018.

Speaking last, the new justice thanked everyone for their kind words.

“I am truly honoured by your presence,” she said.

She vowed to work hard to earn the public trust and show she is deserving of the bench.

Duncan feels a judge’s primary role is to serve all individuals and businesses in the territory.

A judge’s service is performed by listening empathetically and objectively to people, she added. The listening will help a judge understand the true nature of the issue before him or her and how to properly interpret and apply the law.

This will help the judge make a decision that enables people to move forward with their lives.

The traditional perception of a judge is to preside over trials, but there is more to it, Duncan said. Trials are only part of a judge’s function.

In her role, she will have to preside over settlement conferences, case management conferences and other forms of dispute resolution. She said these are more common than in the past.

She explained that dispute resolution from outside the courtroom is usually quicker, less expensive and leads to more acceptable outcomes.

“This evolution is good for access to justice,” she said.

Access to justice is not a luxury, as it is essential to maintain public confidence in the courts, Duncan told her listeners. She said justice that people cannot afford is not justice.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues and other justice partners in continuing to improve access to justice in the Yukon,” she said.

She outlined one of the more difficult roles as a judge: providing reasons for a decision, both orally and written.

She said reasons are central to the legitimacy of the legal process, as it provides transparency.

Reasons ensure that a judge’s decision is not arbitrary or based on his or her personal view, but rather the facts and the correctly applied law.

She adds that justice is not done if the parties involved do not understand why their side either won or lost.

Duncan explained that legal disputes do not exist in a vacuum; they are a product of social, economic, cultural and personal circumstances.

These factors are always changing, and judges need to understand this, she said.

Judges also need to ensure these considerations are reflected in their decisions, she said.

She said she will have to ensure she does not compromise her impartiality nor independence by being overly involved in societal issues.

This includes drawing too much on her lived experiences. She explained that she needs to continue to have these experiences, as they are useful, but needs to be constantly re-examining her assumptions, perceptions and values.

“I know that I must ensure my personal beliefs do not influence my work,” she said.

The new justice said there needs to be balance between drawing on her experiences and protecting herself from bias. These biases may be unconscious or otherwise unintended.

She thanked Veale and Justice Edith Campbell for letting her shadow them in the weeks after her appointment was announced. She said they gave great advice, and were patient with her for all the questions she asked.

“I have much to learn, and I can’t think of a better environment in which to do that in,” she said.

Duncan said he feels privileged to call the Yukon home. She first visited the territory in August 2003 and eventually decided to move here, where she had a long legal career.

Her most recent role was being the in house counsel for the Kwanlin Dün First Nation.

Duncan said the territory caught her from the beginning of her visit. It was the beauty of the land, the many community activities and the diverse culture that lured her.

Duncan had friends and family present for the ceremony. Some came from as far away as Paris to show support.

Her mother was unable to attend, as she was unable to travel, and her father is deceased.

Duncan thanked her parents for supporting her over the years. She said they passed down a commitment to continual learning, a desire to work hard and a dedication to public service.

“I’m sad they are not here,” she said.

The ceremony was filmed and will be sent to her mother.

Comments (3)

Up 4 Down 3

The Hornblower is not here on Feb 25, 2019 at 8:22 am

Dave and Horatio are correct - Justice has become a satire of postmodernist, reductionist logic in the absurd in which the perpetrator becomes victim. This absurdism is most visible in systems of extreme liberalism or liberal-demockeries.

The judiciary is a system of extreme liberalism. The irony in the current system is that there is no “real” victim as the state, the government serves that function through invocation of the Queen’s prerogative, so we have Regina [Queen] vs John/Jane Doe [Accused]. Even this notion has been perverted as it is now in fashion to blame the state for the “social problems” that were created which led John/Jane Doe to reclaim some sense of “humanity” through violating the rights of others - which again, are transformed as transgressions against the state in right of her majesty the Queen.

No wonder it is never anyone’s fault anymore. However, we can use this lens to more properly view the legal system as some fashion of a Ponzi Scheme. How can you have confidence in the administration of justice when, a person with regard to all the facts, would reasonably conclude that the legal system represents the worst of liberalism - A system of moral relativism propounded by those who actually benefit from this organized chaos - follow the money.

Up 8 Down 5

Dave on Feb 20, 2019 at 12:59 pm

There is nothing vaguely related to ‘Justice’ in the Legal system anymore.

Up 27 Down 25

Horatio on Feb 19, 2019 at 3:08 pm

I don't think the public has confidence that Justice will be done by our present system. In fact, just the opposite.

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