May 1, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada
The Honorable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure Appointment. of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.
Miguel Battista, Founding lawyer at Battista Migration Law Group in Toronto appointed Federal Court judge. Judge Battista replaces Judge E. Walker, who was elevated to the Federal Court of Appeals on January 26, 2024.
Catherine MooreSenior General Counsel of the Canadian Department of Justice in Ottawa, is appointed associate judge of the Federal Court.
Appointment
“I wish Judge Battista and Associate Judge Moore much success in their new roles. “I am confident that they will serve Canadians well as members of the Federal Court.”
—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Biographies
Judge Michael Battista He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and his LL.B. from Queen’s Law School. Called to the Ontario Bar in 1992, he has exclusively practiced immigration and refugee law since then. He is certified as a Specialist in Immigration and Refugee Law by the Law Society of Ontario.
Judge Battista appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of interveners Amnesty International, EGALE Canada and Rainbow Railroad. He is co-author of two legal texts: Canadian Family and Immigration Law: Intersections, Developments and Conflicts (2015, Carswell) and Family Class Sponsorship in Canadian Immigration Law (2021, Emond). He was an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, where he received the first Faculty Innovation Award in 2018.
Committed to community service, Judge Battista began volunteering on the Toronto AIDS Committee’s hotline at the height of the AIDS crisis and eventually became president of the board of directors. He is also the founding president of Rainbow Railroad, an international 2SLGBTQI+ refugee support organization. He was named to the Ontario AIDS Network Honor Roll, recognized by the Metropolitan Toronto Community Church Community Service Award, and received the 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce Business Advocate of the Year Award in 2023. He also received the Recognition for the Volunteer of the Immigration Section of the Canadian Bar Association. Grant.
Judge Battista is supported by her husband Keith, a retired City of Toronto firefighter, and her 14-year-old son Dario.
Associate Justice Catharine Moore He is originally from a small town northwest of Toronto. She studied at the University of Ottawa and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1994.
Associate Justice Moore spent her career as a civil litigator at the Department of Justice Canada in both the Toronto Regional Office and the headquarters in Ottawa. Although she began with a broad practice covering most aspects of Crown law, for the past twenty years her attention has been focused exclusively on the area of class proceedings. She has been lead trial counsel in numerous high-profile and sensitive class proceedings against Canada.
Associate Justice Moore has actively contributed to legal education and mentoring both within the Canadian Department of Justice and the broader legal community, including teaching civil procedure to final year law students at the University of Ottawa. He was a member of the Ontario Bar and Superior Court, the Class Actions Section and the Federal Court Class Action Liaison Committee, and a frequent panelist at continuing legal education events.
Associate Justice Moore is grateful for the support of her wonderful partner, Paul Lahaise and her extraordinary son, James Baker, as well as her extended family across the country.