Tax lawyer’s appointment as judge increases diversity on Nova Scotia courts

The 48-year-old Bodurtha will preside in Halifax, with his appointment effective immediately. (File Photo: John Bodurtha/Twitter)

HALIFAX — A veteran tax litigator of Caribbean descent has been appointed to Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court, increasing the diversity of the province’s courts.

John Bodurtha was appointed by federal Justice Minister Judy Wilson-Raybould Friday, to replace Justice Glen McDougall.

The appointment brings the total number of black judges in Nova Scotia to six, with five African Nova Scotian judges on the provincial and family courts, and one on the 29-member Supreme Court’s trial division in the 104-member judiciary, including full-time and part-time judges.

The 48-year-old Bodurtha will preside in Halifax, with his appointment effective immediately.

Chief Justice Joseph Kennedy said in a news release that he expected Bodurtha’s experience as a tax litigator and member of numerous legal committees would be helpful to the superior court.

“I have no doubt his expertise will prove valuable on this court, and his involvement with the committee work outside the courtroom shows his commitment to an efficient, effective and representative judicial system,” said Kennedy.

A biography provided by the court says Bodurtha was born and raised in Halifax, received his law degree from Dalhousie University and was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in 1996.

He spent a year with Nova Scotia Legal Aid before joining Justice Canada as a tax litigator, and he has served as co-chair of the provincial barristers society’s racial equity committee.

He is on the board of directors for Dalhousie Legal Aid, a board member for Halifax City Soccer Club, and a past member of the board of directors for Phoenix House.

Nova Scotia has been steadily increasing its judicial diversity, as both Ottawa and the province have made appointments to replace retiring judges.

Last year, the province appointed two black lawyers, an openly gay lawyer and a female Crown attorney as judges, bringing its provincial and family courts closer to gender and diversity balance.

Its provincial and family courts now have 20 female judges and 26 men, including one Aboriginal woman and four judges fluent in French.

Premier Stephen McNeil has called the growing diversity part of “reconciliation” in a province where the black and Aboriginal populations have often faced struggles with the criminal justice system.

In 2016, figures were released showing that black men were three times more likely to be street-checked in Halifax in the first 10 months of that year.

The royal commission into Donald Marshall Jr.’s wrongful murder conviction in 1971 sparked calls for an overhaul of the province’s justice system.

The 1989 inquiry recommended that Nova Scotia’s legal system “consider the needs of visible minorities by appointing qualified visible minority judges and administrative board members whenever possible.”