OTTAWA,
ON, May 13, 2024 /CNW/ - The
Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney
General of Canada, today announced
the following appointment under the judicial application process
established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit,
and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to
ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of
excellence and integrity.
Michael U. Ezri, General
Counsel at the Department of Justice
Canada in Toronto, is
appointed a Judge of the Tax Court of Canada. Justice
Ezri replaces Justice K.
Lyons, who resigned effective June
30, 2023.
Quote
"I wish Justice Ezri every
success as he takes on his new role. I am confident he will serve
Canadians well as a member of the Tax Court of Canada."
—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister
of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Biography
Justice Michael U. Ezri
was born in Montreal. He received
his BA Hons in philosophy and history from Carleton University and obtained his JD from
Osgoode Hall Law School. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1998.
Justice Ezri speaks English and
French. He worked as a GST Rulings Officer for the Canada Revenue
Agency before joining the Department of Justice Canada as a tax litigator in 1999
becoming General Counsel in 2019. He has argued significant and
high-profile tax cases before the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court, and the Federal
Court of Appeal. He is recognized within the Department of
Justice Canada and in the tax bar
as a leader in the area of GST/HST law. He has testified before the
Senate's Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional
Affairs.
Justice Ezri has lectured in tax
law at Toronto Metropolitan
University's Lincoln Alexander
School of law and has coached their tax mooting team for the
Bowman moot. He has served for many years as an articling principal
and as a tax tutor for the Law Society of Ontario's tutoring program. He has regularly
presented at the CPA's Commodity Tax Symposium.
Justice Ezri and his spouse Julie
have one teenage daughter. They enjoy travelling and spending time
with family and friends.
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada has
appointed more than 733 judges since November 2015. This includes 106 appointments
since the Honourable Arif Virani became Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of Canada on
July 26, 2023.These exceptional
jurists represent the diversity that strengthens Canada. Of these judges, more than half are
women, and appointments reflect an increased representation of
racialized persons, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+, and those who
self-identify as having a disability.
- To support the needs of the courts and improve access to
justice for all Canadians, the Government of Canada is committed to increasing the capacity
of superior courts. Budget 2022 provides for 22 new judicial
positions, along with two associate judges at the Tax Court of
Canada. Along with the 13
positions created under Budget 2021, this makes a total of 37 newly
created superior court positions. Since Budget 2017, the government
has funded 116 new judicial positions.
- Changes to the Questionnaire for Federal Judicial Appointments
were announced in September 2022. The
questionnaire continues to provide for a robust and thorough
assessment of candidates but has been streamlined and updated to
incorporate, among other things, more respectful and inclusive
language for individuals to self-identify diversity
characteristics.
- Federal judicial appointments are made by the Governor General,
acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet and recommendations
from the Minister of Justice.
- The Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada play a key role in evaluating judicial
applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each
province and territory represented.
- Significant reforms to the role and structure of the Judicial
Advisory Committees, aimed at enhancing the independence and
transparency of the process, were announced on October 20, 2016.
- The Government of Canada is
committed to promoting a justice system in which sexual assault
matters are decided fairly, without the influence of myths and
stereotypes, and in which survivors are treated with dignity and
compassion. Changes to the Judges Act and
Criminal Code that came into force on May 6, 2021, mean that in order to be eligible
for appointment to a provincial superior court, candidates must
agree to participate in continuing education on matters related to
sexual assault law and social context, which includes systemic
racism and systemic discrimination. The new legislation enhances
the transparency of decisions by amending the Criminal
Code to require that judges provide written reasons, or
enter them into the record, when deciding sexual assault
matters.
SOURCE Department of Justice
Canada