Our Judges

The Honourable Suzanne Côté was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on December 1, 2014.

Before her appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Côté was a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where she was head of the Montréal office’s litigation group. Before joining Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, Justice Côté had practised for 23 years at Stikeman Elliott, where she was also head of the Montréal office’s litigation group. She specialized in complex civil and commercial litigation, including cases involving manufacturer’s liability, class actions, shareholder disputes and public law.

Before she started working for major law firms, Justice Côté practised for approximately 8 years in the Gaspé Peninsula, where she had been born.

Justice Côté received the Advocatus Emeritus distinction from the Barreau du Québec in 2011. In addition, she has been a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 2005.

Justice Côté’s competence as a litigator was recognized on many occasions, including in the following publications: Best Lawyers in Canada (2014) — Corporate and Commercial Litigation and Class Action Litigation; Benchmark Litigation Canada (2014) — Litigation Star (Quebec); BTI Client Service All-Star (2011); The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (2014) — Litigation - Corporate Commercial; The Lexpert Guide to the Leading Canada/US Cross-Border Litigation Lawyers in Canada (2012) — Corporate Commercial; The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2014) — Litigation - Corporate Commercial (Most Frequently Recommended), Litigation - Directors’ and Officers’ Liability, Class Actions, Litigation - Public Law, Litigation - Securities; Lexpert Special Edition - Canada’s Leading Litigation Lawyers (2012); Chambers Global guide of the world’s leading business lawyers (2014) — Dispute Resolution (Quebec); Le monde juridique (2008) — named litigator of the year; and Lexpert (September 2003), in which Justice Côté was named in a feature article on Canada’s 25 best lawyers.

 Justice Côté argued cases in various trial courts, as well as in the Quebec Court of Appeal, the Federal Courts and the Supreme Court of Canada. She had received an LL.B. from Université Laval before being called to the Quebec Bar in 1981.

Justice Côté has taught evidence and litigation at the École du Barreau du Québec, and has also lectured at the Université du Québec à Rimouski and at the Université de Montréal. She has also contributed for many years to the organization of the annual Coupe Guy-Guérin trial advocacy competition, a provincial competition that leads to participation in the Sopinka Cup. Finally, she has given many lectures relating to various areas of the law.

Justice Côté has been a member of the board of directors of the Fondation Jean Duceppe and has also worked for years with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. 

Originally from the Gaspésie, Justice Côté was a member of the board of directors of the Société d’histoire de la Gaspésie and president of both the Gaspé Chamber of Commerce and the Chambre de Commerce de la Gaspésie.

(DAY-vid STRA-tuss /deɪvɪd strætəs pronouns: he/him) LL.B. (Queen’s University, 1984); B.C.L. (Oxford University, 1986); LL.D. (Queen’s University, 2012, honoris causa). Born in Toronto, Ontario. Law clerk to Justice Bertha Wilson of the Supreme Court of Canada (1986-1987). Called to the Bar of Ontario (1988). Litigation partner in firms in Toronto, Ontario. Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (2008). Appointed Special Advocate by the Minister of Justice (2008). Appointed Judge of the Federal Court of Appeal, and a member ex officio of the Federal Court on December 11, 2009. Appointed Judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, May 3, 2012. Chair of the Subcommittee on Global Revision to the Federal Courts Rules (2012-2013). Member of the Federal Courts Rules Committee (2010-2019) and the Registry Committee (2020-present). Acting Chief Justice (2023). Adjunct member, Faculty of Law, Queen's University (1994 to the present), winning ten faculty teaching awards. Instructor at judicial education sessions held across Canada each year (1997 to the present), particularly in the area of administrative law. Author of over 150 articles or conference papers and over 250 presentations on various legal topics, particularly in the areas of administrative law, constitutional law and legal writing. Currently the senior puisne judge on the Federal Court of Appeal.

Justice Katherine van Rensburg was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in October 2013.  Prior to her appointment to this court she had served on the Superior Court of Justice in the Central West Region since November 2006. As a trial judge, Justice van Rensburg was chambered in Brampton, and presided over criminal, family and civil law matters.  She also served on the Divisional Court.

Justice van Rensburg was an associate lawyer and then a partner at the Toronto law firm Smith Lyons LLP, and she became a partner in Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP with the merger of the two firms in 2001.  She practised civil litigation and environmental law, having been certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in each. 

Justice van Rensburg is a graduate of the University of Toronto (B.A.), Queen’s University (LL.B.) and Cambridge University (LL.M.).  She spent her articling year as law clerk for the Honourable Justice Wm. McIntyre at the Supreme Court of Canada.