They were appointed to the Central West and Northwest regions
The Ontario government has announced the appointment of Samantha E. Burton and Denette Ellard as new regional senior justices of the peace to the Ontario Court of Justice.
A regional senior justice of the peace advises and assists the associate chief justice or coordinator of justices of the peace and the regional senior judge in all matters concerning the justices of the peace.
Samantha Burton has been appointed regional senior justice of the peace to the Central West region. She will replace Marsha Farnand. Burton started her legal career as a paralegal at Legal Aid Ontario in 2006. She later worked as a staff lawyer and supervisory duty counsel.
Burton was appointed justice of the peace in the Central West region in 2013. She also served as a local administrative justice of the peace in the Brampton criminal court from 2017 to 2021.
Burton was a member of the Peel Indigenous Education Committee, Brampton Bail Committee and Ontario Court of Justice Case Management Court Committee. She has also been on the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee since 2017.
Denette Ellard has been appointed regional senior justice of the peace for the Northwest region and will replace J.A. Bernard Caron. She was appointed justice of the peace in the Northwest region in 2016. She served as local administrative justice of the peace since February 2023.
She has also been a Northwest region mentoring coordinator since 2021 and a primary mentor for three new appointees. She has been a member of the Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee on Education since 2018. Before she was appointed a justice of the peace, Ellard worked for over 21 years with the Ontario Provincial Police.
Burton’s appointment is effective starting January 29, 2024. On the other hand, Ellard will begin in her new role on March 1, 2024.
