A newly appointed judge will sit on the judicial circuit that serves the Rainy River District, Ontario’s attorney general announced Tuesday.
Among a slate of five new judges in Ontario, Justice Brent Davidson has been assigned by Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas to Kenora-Fort Frances effective next Thursday, Aug. 27, Attorney General Doug Downey said in a press release.
Fort Frances lost its last formally posted judge when Justice Thomas McKay departed in 2012, leaving the district without a resident judge for more than a decade. Although Justice Terry Waltenbury now lives in Fort Frances and serves the Northwest circuit, the Ontario Court of Justice has not restored a full‑time resident posting here, and the town remains a circuit location covered by regionally assigned judges.
Doug Judson, president of the Rainy River District Law Association, noted that Davidson’s appointment brings to three the total of Ontario Court justices assigned to the town.
“Not too long ago, our district was advocating to have the court and the province recognize that we needed a local judge based in Fort Frances,” Judson told The Times.
“The local bar appreciates the ongoing recognition by the provincial government and the Chief Justice of the unique justice needs of our communities in the Rainy River District. We look forward to welcoming Justice Davidson to Fort Frances and congratulate His Honour on his appointment.”
Davidson, who graduated from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law and was called to the Manitoba bar in 1999, began his legal career with the Manitoba Prosecution Service (MPS) as a Crown attorney, first with the Criminal Organization Unit and then with Youth Prosecutions.
In 2008, he rejoined the Criminal Organization Unit as a senior Crown attorney, focusing on organized crime involving firearms and illicit drugs. In 2016, Justice Davidson became general counsel with the MPS.
Davidson’s background as a senior Manitoba Crown attorney handling organized crime, firearms and drug prosecutions means the Ontario Court of Justice can assign him to more complex criminal matters in the region.
Northwestern Ontario routinely exports serious trials to larger centres when local judicial capacity is stretched. Adding a judge with Davidson’s experience should allow more of those cases to be scheduled and heard in Fort Frances instead of being shifted to Kenora or Thunder Bay.
Davidson is a past vice-president of the St. James Assiniboia Minor Baseball Association board and held several coaching positions, including assistant football coach at Collège Sturgeon Heights Collegiate, head coach of the St. James Rods Football Club and head baseball coach at the Heritage Victoria Community Centre.
