Justice of Court of King’s Bench appointee Chris Millsap will be sworn into his new position Friday. Millsap who has been a partner at O’Neill, Hurley, O’Keeffe, Millsap Liberty Law LLP in Grande Prairie is filling one of one of the two new positions.
He says the process so far has been extremely humbling.
“I think more than being about me it is important for Grande Prairie to have real access to justice locally, and I think making sure we have a full slate of provincial court and Court of King’s Bench Justices in place sitting locally is an important first step to that.”
He explains some of the burdens were able to be eased electronically for the years there was no Court of the King’s Bench Justice sitting in Grande Prairie, but having at least one justice in town will be a benefit for the community.
“[They] can actually assist in the administration of justice be it through law enforcement, signing warrants, reviewing emergency protection orders, etc. It is important to have somebody locally here and available at a moment’s notice.”
On Friday, Millsap will be sworn in by Chief Justice Mary Moreau in Edmonton and then will start his training from there. Millsap says the training will include going through procedures and rules.