Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee

Ministry

Attorney General

URL

www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/jpaac/

Address

Email: jpaac.info@ontario.ca
COORDINATOR, JUSTICES OF THE PEACE APPOINTMENTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, 720 BAY STREET, 3RD FLOOR
TORONTO
M7A2S9

Background

Justices of the Peace Act (opens a new window)

Function

The Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee's function is to: classify candidates for appointments as justices of the peace in Ontario; report on the classifications to the Attorney General; and provide advice to the Attorney General respecting the process for appointing justices of the peace. Committee members are responsible for a number of functions, including: determining the skills, abilities and personal characteristics that are desired in a justice of the peace and making them available to the public; developing a justice of the peace candidate application form that specifies what supporting material is required and making it available to the public; developing the application procedure and making information about it available to the public; on the request of the Attorney General, advertising for applications for vacant justice of the peace positions; reviewing and evaluating all applications received in response to the advertisement; interviewing any of the candidates in conducting its review and evaluation; conducting the advertising, review and evaluation process in accordance with the criteria it establishes, and making that criteria available to the public; and classifying candidates as “Not Recommended”, “Recommended”, or “Highly Recommended” and providing a list of the classified candidates to the Attorney General with brief supporting reasons for the candidates classified as “Recommended” or “Highly Recommended”.

Membership

The Committee is composed of three core members as follows: a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice, or a justice of the peace, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice; a justice of the peace appointed by the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice who is either the Senior Indigenous Justice of the Peace or another justice of the peace familiar with Indigenous issues or, when the justice of the peace so appointed is not available to act as a member of the Committee, another justice of the peace familiar with Indigenous issues who is designated by the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice; and one person appointed by the Attorney General. The Attorney General designates one of the core members to chair the committee for a three-year term.

In addition to the core members, the Committee includes the following regional members in respect of its functions in a particular region: the regional senior justice of the peace for the region or, when he or she is not available to act as a member of the Committee, another justice of the peace from the same region who is designated by the regional senior judge; up to three persons appointed by the Attorney General;  and a licensee within the meaning of the Law Society Act in the region appointed by the Attorney General from a list of three names submitted to the Attorney General by the Law Society of Ontario.

Term

Members appointed by the Attorney General of Ontario hold office for three-year terms on a part-time basis and are eligible for reappointment. The chair of the Committee shall serve a term of up to three years and may serve for two or more terms.

Meetings

The Core Committee meets as required throughout the year. The regional committees meet on an as-required basis to screen applications for justice of the peace appointments, select candidates to be interviewed, conduct interviews and make recommendations to the Attorney General. The Committee may hold its meetings and conduct interviews in person or through electronic means, including telephone conferencing and video conferencing.

Remuneration

Appointees to the Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee are remunerated on a per diem basis as follows: Chair: $566; Member: $355.

Appointments & Vacancies