Manitoba Chief Justice Glenn Joyal Nominated to Supreme Court of Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney nominated Glenn Joyal, chief justice of Manitoba's Court of King's Bench, to the Supreme Court of Canada last week, Cbc reported. Joyal appeared before parliamentarians on Monday ahead of his confirmation hearing. Joyal, who joined the bench in 1998 and became chief justice in 2011, described himself as an institutionalist committed to the Constitution.

He said judges must actively rebuild public trust, especially with marginalized and Indigenous communities, rather than relying on standard outreach. During the two-and-a-half-hour session, Joyal highlighted his handling of R. v.

Skibicki. He presided over the judge-alone trial that convicted Jeremy Skibicki on four counts of first-degree murder of Indigenous women in Winnipeg in 2022. Joyal agreed to a special sitting to hear victim impact statements from the family of Ashlee Shingoose, one victim initially identified only as Buffalo woman through later DNA evidence.

Joyal stated that the judiciary must listen to ordinary people. "I don't believe in defending stupid systems," he said. " Joyal, whose father is Franco-Manitoban and whose mother is of Polish descent, began his career as a lawyer in Manitoba before his appointment to the bench.

He noted that judges have taken on a larger role in society since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that institutions must reconnect with the public to counter misinformation.