Government of Canada announces appointment to the Specific Claims Tribunal

Press Release

June 26, 2019 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada

The Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment.

The Honourable Victoria Chiapetta, a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, is appointed as a full-time member of the Specific Claims Tribunal for a five-year term.

Biography

Justice Chiappetta was born in Sault Ste. Marie. She earned a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Law School in 1993 and was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1995. She was appointed to the Superior Court of Ontario in Toronto in November 2012.

Prior to her appointment, Justice Chiappetta served as Vice President, Legal and General Counsel, for Essar Steel Algoma (now Algoma Steel). She remains the only woman to hold a position on the steel company’s executive. From 1995 to 2007, Justice Chiappetta served a number of legal firms across Ontario. Her main areas of practice were corporate law, civil litigation, environmental law, labour law, and human rights.

As a member of the Superior Court, Justice Chiappetta has a breadth of experience adjudicating in civil, family, and commercial courts. Her most recent position was overseeing commercial list matters. Justice Chiappetta has been a Deputy Judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice since December 2017, where she has assisted the territory and its history of judicial excellence.

Justice Chiappetta has been a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Canadian Italian Advocates Organization and the Legal Advisory Committee of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. She frequently lectures on legal matters at the University of Toronto and has been a contributing writer for Influential Women of Northern Ontario and Canada Law Book.

Quick facts

• The Specific Claims Tribunal is an independent adjudicative body established as part of the federal government’s Justice at Last policy. This joint initiative with the Assembly of First Nations aimed to accelerate the resolution of specific claims in order to provide justice for First Nations claimants and certainty for government, industry, and all Canadians. The Tribunal is composed of up to 6 full-time federal judges appointed from provincial Superior Courts across the country.

Contacts

For more information, media may contact:

Rachel Rappaport
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-6568
rachel.rappaport@justice.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca

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