Leonard Marchand is the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of British Columbia and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Yukon. Since the Court of Appeal is the highest court in British Columbia, the position can be titled as simply the "Chief Justice of British Columbia." He is the first person of

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

(

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

) identity to hold the post of Chief Justice. He is the son of Donna Marchand (nee Parr) and politician

Leonard Marchand Leonard Stephen "Len" Marchand (November 16, 1933 – June 3, 2016) was a Canadian politician. He was the first person of First Nations status to serve in the federal cabinet, after being the first Status Indian elected and serving as a M ...

Early life

Marchand is Syilx and a member of the Okanagan Indian Band. He grew up in Kamloops, B.C. He graduated from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1986 with a

B.A.Sc. A Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS or BASc) is an undergraduate academic degree of applied sciences. Usage In Canada, the Netherlands and other places the Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) is equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering, and is cl ...

in chemical engineering. He worked in the oil industry for five years before attending law school at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

, graduating in 1994.

Career

From 1995 to 2013, he practiced law at Fulton & Company LLP in Kamloops, where his practice focused on the liability of public authorities, including by advancing civil claims for abuses suffered by residential school survivors. Notably, in 2005, he helped negotiate and was a signatory to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. He served on the Oversight Committee for the Independent Assessment Process and on the Chief Adjudicator's Reference Group. Marchand was asked to serve on the Selection Committee to make recommendations on appointments to the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state ac ...

. In 2013, he was appointed to the

Provincial Court of British Columbia The Provincial Court of British Columbia (BC Provincial Court) is a trial level court in British Columbia that hears cases in criminal, civil and family matters. The Provincial Court is a creation of statute, and as such its jurisdiction is ...

. He was appointed to the

Supreme Court of British Columbia The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judici ...

in 2017. He also presided in Kamloops Cknucwentn First Nations Sentencing Court in Kamloops. In 2021, he was appointed to the

British Columbia Court of Appeal The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act. Jurisdiction The ...

. In December 2023, Marchand was appointed Chief Justice of British Columbia and the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Yukon.

References

Judges in British Columbia University of British Columbia alumni University of Victoria alumni Syilx people Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Improve categories, date=March 2023