On May 22, The Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced a number of judicial appointments, including the Honourable Audrey Ramsay, LLB ’93, and the Honourable Narissa Somji, LLB ’94, to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario.
Madam Justice Ramsay was called to the Ontario Bar in 1995. She was born in Jamaica and immigrated to Canada at the age of 10. At the time of her appointment, she worked with Blouin Dunn LLP and handled a range of insurance defence work, including property and casualty, professional negligence and commercial and automobile insurance.
She has served on the Civil Rules Committee and on the boards of the Ontario Bar Association, Canadian Defence Lawyers, and the Women’s Law Association of Ontario. She has chaired the Canadian Bar Association Sections Subcommittee, the OBA Civil Litigation Section and the OBA Insurance Law Section.
In 2010, she received the OBA’s Linda Adlam Manning Award for Volunteerism and just recently was awarded the Ontario Bar Association’s 2020 Award for Distinguished Service.
She was also Chair of the NourishHOPE Committee which supports the work of the International Justice Mission, rescuing individuals from modern day slavery and raising awareness of human trafficking.
In 2018 she was inducted into the Common Law Honour Society, the most prestigious alumni distinction presented by the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section.
Madam Justice Somji was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo to parents of South Asian origin and immigrated to Canada in the 1970s. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1996. She has worked with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada since 2012 and specialized in the prosecution of Competition Act offences, regulatory offences, and economic crimes. Before that, she provided legal advice on mergers, civil and criminal matters under the Competition Act to the Department of Justice Competition Bureau legal services unit.
She launched her legal career in the Yukon as a Crown counsel where she prosecuted Criminal Code offences and collaborated in the elaboration of restorative justice initiatives in Indigenous communities.
Over the years, she has actively given back to her communities through volunteering or teaching and locally has mentored Faculty of Law, Common Law Section students.
She taught English in the Congo, instructed criminology students at Yukon College and has volunteered with community programs within the Ismaili Muslim community, the Chelsea Nordiq Cross Country Ski Club, and, more recently, the Catholic Centre for Immigrants in Ottawa.
“It is exciting to see these two outstanding Common Law graduates appointed to the bench. I have no doubt that they will both enrich the administration of justice in Ontario,” said Dean Adam Dodek.