Wannamaker served as assistant Crown attorney while Bellows worked as a solo lawyer
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Arif Virani, has announced the appointments of Lisa A. Wannamaker and Robin A. Bellows as judges of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario.
Lisa A. Wannamaker replaces Justice D.S. Gunsolus, who transitioned to supernumerary status on March 28, 2022. Justice Wannamaker, originally from Peterborough, holds an honours degree in political science and economics from the University of Waterloo and a law degree from Queen’s University. Called to the Ontario bar in 2005, she began her career at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and the Ontario Securities Commission before joining the Etobicoke Crown Attorney’s Office in 2006. In 2012, she moved to the Peterborough Crown Attorney’s Office.
Throughout her career, Justice Wannamaker has led prosecutions involving serious cases such as homicides and sexual assaults. She was frequently involved in education and training for other crowns and presented to police services across the province on search issues, expert issues and statements. She was an annual director for the crown attorney school on expert evidence. She also taught in the forensic science program at Trent University.
Justice Robin A. Bellows has been appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in Parry Sound, filling the vacancy left by internal court transfers initiated by the chief justice. Justice Bellows, who grew up in Newfoundland and Toronto, earned her Honours Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College at the University of Toronto in 2003 and completed her law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School in 2006. She was called to the Ontario bar in 2007 and has practised in Muskoka as a sole practitioner and duty counsel for over a decade. In 2017, she became an agent for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and was appointed a per diem deputy judge of the Small Claims Court in 2023.
Justice Bellows served as president of the Muskoka Law Association and the Parry Sound Law Association. She also coached the Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School mock trial teams for several years.
Minister Virani expressed his confidence in the new appointees, stating, “I wish Justices Wannamaker and Bellows every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve Ontarians well as members of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario.”
