Heather J. Forster Smith served as Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice from 2002 - 2019. She was the first woman to be appointed to that position.

Heather J. Forster Smith[2]
Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
In office
2002–2019
Nominated byJean Chrétien
Appointed byAdrienne Clarkson
Preceded byPatrick LeSage
Succeeded byGeoffrey B. Morawetz
Personal details
SpouseDavid Smith
Children3
Alma materQueen's University Faculty of Law (1971)[3]

Smith graduated from Queen's University and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1973. She began her legal career as a Crown prosecutor with the federal Department of Justice.[4]

Her judicial career began in 1983:

  • County and District Court judge 1983
  • Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division) 1990
  • Associate Chief Justice of the Ontario Court (General Division) 1996
  • Retired from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on June 30, 2019[5]

Personal life

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Smith was married to former Senator David Smith[4] until his death on February 26, 2020.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Current Judges and Judicial Officials of the Superior Court of Justice". Superior Court of Justice. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  2. ^ "SCJ - Prioritizing Children Dec 2012.pdf" (PDF). County of Carleton Law Association. 2012-12-21. Retrieved 2013-10-20.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Faculty of Law - Chief Justices". Queen's University. Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  4. ^ a b "404 | Law Society of Ontario". {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  5. ^ Justice (ON), Superior Court of (May 8, 2019). "The Honourable Heather J. Smith, Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) announced her retirement today, effective June 30, 2019. "It has been the honour of a lifetime and my extraordinary privilege to serve as Chief Justice of this incredible Court." 1/2pic.twitter.com/SQjhiUlViu".
  6. ^ LLP, Dentons Canada. "The Honourable David P. Smith, P.C., Q.C., has passed away". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2020-02-27.