Judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta Steven Hinkley is looking forward to the next chapter in his legal career but admits it’s tough to say goodbye to Grande Prairie.
“I’m completely humbled and honoured to have been selected to be appointed to the bench,” he says.
“I’m going to miss the community, the great people here I have worked with, both at the bar and my fellow lawyers, as well as the community contacts I made while I was here. It has been an honour and privilege to be a part of this community,” he explains.
“In my case, it’s a matter of what both my parents and my own mentors have instilled in me, which is to always try to make something or somewhere better. If I can look back on the communities I’ve worked in and see that they are better for having me there, then I’ve done the right thing,” he says.
Hinkley will assume his new duties as Judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta based in High Prairie.
“High Prairie as a place is new territory for me. I am not unfamiliar with being in the north. I was in fact in Yellowknife and did northern circuits through the Northwest Territories for years earlier in my career. High Prairie is a community I’m looking forward to getting to know, exploring, and working with,” he says.
“My career has taken a great number of turns. I’ve always been a believer that when opportunity knocks you should open the door. If you would have asked me in my second year of law school what I was going to be, I would have said something completely different. It’s been an incredibly rich and rewarding experience and I wouldn’t change a thing,” he adds.
In 2012, Hinkley became Chief Crown Prosecutor in the Grande Prairie office. Shortly after that in 2021, he became Senior Counsel for Regional Prosecutions. Hinkley is one of eight others that have been appointed to the bench. His appointment became effective on May 4th.