The Honourable Catherine M. Kane
Credit: Balfour
Catherine Kane was appointed as Judge of the Federal Court and ex officio as a member of the Federal Court of Appeal on June 21, 2012 and is also a member of the Court Martial Appeal Court.
Justice Kane, a native of Ottawa, obtained a BA from Saint Patrick’s College and a LLB from the University of Ottawa and was admitted to the bar of Ontario in 1982. Justice Kane obtained a Certificate in Public Sector Leadership and Governance from the University of Ottawa in 2012.
Prior to her appointment, Justice Kane was Senior General Counsel and Director General in the Criminal Law Policy Section of the Department of Justice responsible for the development and implementation of a range of criminal law reforms and the management of a large team of Counsel and other professionals. Justice Kane joined the Department of Justice as Counsel in the Policy, Programs and Research Branch in 1982 and moved to the then Ministry of the Solicitor General in 1985, returning to the Department of Justice in 1987. Justice Kane’s primary area of practice was criminal law. Justice Kane was directly engaged in the reform of sexual assault offences and related sexual offences, the reform of the law governing persons found not criminal responsible on account of mental disorder and a range of reforms and program initiatives to address the role of victims of crime in the criminal justice system, including the establishment and expansion of the Policy Centre for Victim Issues in the Department of Justice. Justice Kane was actively involved in numerous Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Working Groups and other Consultation fora with non- governmental organizations. Justice Kane was a member of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada, and occupied various positions including ten years as secretary to the Criminal Section and as Chair of the Criminal Section in 2003-04. In 2011 Justice Kane received the John Tait Award for exemplary public service from the Department of Justice.
Date modified: 2019-04-14