The Honourable Mr. Justice Jamie W. S. Saunders

Mr. Justice Saunders was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and grew up in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. He graduated from Bishop’s University and obtained his law degree at Dalhousie University in 1973, where he was awarded the Smith Shield.

After his call to the Bar, he carried on an extensive civil and criminal litigation practice appearing before all levels of court in Nova Scotia and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is a frequent lecturer to the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and Dalhousie Law School, as well as judicial conferences and other professional bodies across the country on professional advocacy and ethics. Many of his lectures on these and other substantive subjects have been published.

Appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in 1990, Mr. Justice Saunders presided over all manner of trials across the province. He was elevated to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in July, 2000.

Mr. Justice Saunders served as President of the Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, representing more than 1050 federally appointed judges in Canada, from 2000 to 2001.

For many years he served as chair of the joint CSCJA-Canadian Judicial Council selection committee in charge of appointments to the advisory committee on judicial ethics. He recently helped write and present a substantive program for the National Judicial Institute’s inaugural seminar on judicial ethics.

In 2002 Justice Saunders was the recipient of the Bishop's University Award of Merit presented to an alumnus for outstanding lifetime achievements.

Mr. Justice Saunders is the creator of Try Judging, a multimedia educational program aimed at teaching high school students about the Canadian judiciary. He serves as co-chair of the CSCJA’s public education committee mandated to implement the program nationally and internationally.

Mr. Justice Saunders is married and he and his wife Gayle have a son and twin daughters. His outside interests include philosophy, literature, film, furniture restoration and martial arts. He holds a black belt in karate.