Members of the Advisory Board

The Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments (Advisory Board) is an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate is to provide non-binding merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Supreme Court of Canada appointments.

The Advisory Board consists of the eight following members:

The Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan, C.M., O.P.E.I., Chairperson
Nominated by the Minister of Justice

The Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan, former lawyer and renowned legal scholar, and the 32nd Premier of Prince Edward Island.

Paulette Senior, Member
Nominated by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

Konrad Sioui, Member
Nominated by the Minister of Justice

Former Grand Chief of the Huron-Wendat Nation.

Charlene Theodore, Member
Nominated by the Canadian Bar Association

Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault

Jacqueline Horvat, Member
Nominated by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada

Founding partner of the law firm Spark Law.

The Honourable Louise Charron, Member
Nominated by the Canadian Judicial Council

Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice.

Richard Jochelson, Member
Nominated by the Council of Canadian Law Deans

Dean of Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Manitoba

David Nahwegahbow, Member
Nominated by the Indigenous Bar Association

Founding partner of the law firm Nahwegahbow Corbiere


The Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan, C.M., O.P.E.I.
Chairperson

The Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan was the 32nd Premier of Prince Edward Island (2015-19) and served as PEI’s Attorney General as well as Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs, Justice and Public Safety, and, for a period, Finance. He served terms as Chair of the Council of the Federation, the Council of Atlantic Premiers, and the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers.

Mr. MacLauchlan is President Emeritus of the University of Prince Edward Island, where he served as President from 1999 to 2011. He was previously Dean of Law at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) and founding Director of the UNB Centre for Property Studies. Prior to that, he was Associate Professor and Director of the Civil Law / Common Law Exchange Program at Dalhousie Law School. He served as law clerk in the Supreme Court of Canada in 1981-82 and was Administrative Law Editor of the Supreme Court Law Review from 1990 to 1993.

Mr. MacLauchlan is an honorary member of the Law Society of Prince Edward Island, and served on the Council of the Law Society of New Brunswick (1991-96) and as Chair of its Sesquicentennial Committee. He was an active member of the Council of Canadian Law Deans and the Canadian Association of Law Teachers (CALT), including as Chair of the CALT Special Advisory Committee on Equality in Legal Education.

Mr. MacLauchlan has played leadership roles in national and regional organizations, including as a director of the Public Policy Forum, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, the Association of Atlantic Universities, CANARIE Inc., the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, the Federation of PEI Municipalities, Dalhousie Legal Aid, the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, the Windsor Foundation, and the Medavie Health Foundation. He was a director of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and Chair of the AUCC Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations.

Mr. MacLauchlan has been recognized through membership in the Order of Canada (2008) and the Order of Prince Edward Island (2014). In 2010, he was awarded the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC)’s Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Public Service Leadership and, in 2013, he was an inaugural recipient of the Frank McKenna Award for outstanding contributions to public policy by Atlantic Canadians conferred by the Public Policy Forum.

Mr. MacLauchlan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Prince Edward Island, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick, and a Master of Laws from Yale University. He lives in West Covehead, PEI with his partner Duncan McIntosh.

Paulette Senior, Member

Paulette Senior is President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. She joined the Foundation in 2016, after 10 years as CEO of YWCA Canada. In 2021, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Lethbridge. She was nominated by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Konrad Sioui, Member

Konrad Sioui is the former Grand Chief of the Huron-Wendat Nation in Wendake, near Quebec City. Prior to serving as Grand Chief, he was the representative of the Assembly of First Nations in Geneva, from 1985 to 1992. He has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) since January 2021. He was nominated by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Charlene Theodore, Member

Charlene Theodore is Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault. She is a member and former Director of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL). She is a recipient of a 2017 Lexpert Zenith Award recognizing work in advancing the interests of women in the legal profession and society. She was nominated by the Canadian Bar Association.

Jacqueline Horvat, Member

Jacqueline Horvat is a litigation lawyer and a founding partner of the law firm Spark Law. She is currently serving her third term as a bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, where she has been Chair of multiple committees. In addition, she is the Ontario representative on the Council of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. She was nominated by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.

The Honourable Louise Charron, Member

The Honourable Louise Charron was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October 2004 and retired from the Court in 2011. She was the first native-born Franco-Ontarian Supreme Court judge, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2012. She was nominated by the Canadian Judicial Council.

Richard Jochelson, Member

Richard Jochelson is the Dean of Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Manitoba. He previously taught criminal law for 10 years at the University of Winnipeg and worked at a large Canadian law firm. As an academic, he has also authored over 70 publications. He was nominated by the Council of Canadian Law Deans.

David Nahwegahbow, Member

David Nahwegahbow is the founding partner of the law firm Nahwegahbow Corbiere, which acts exclusively for First Nation individuals, communities, and organizations. He is Anishinaabe from Whitefish River First Nation. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Indigenous Bar Association’s Indigenous Peoples Counsel (IPC) designation, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now Indspire Awards) for Law and Justice, the Common Law Honour Society from the University of Ottawa, the Law Society of Ontario’s Law Society Medal, the Advocates’ Society Award of Justice, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Anishinabek Nation. He was nominated by the Indigenous Bar Association.