Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan


The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan is a Canadian appellate court.

Jurisdiction and Structure

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. There are 8 official judicial positions, including the Chief Justice, who make up the Court of Appeal. At any given time there may be one or more additional justice siting as supernumeary justices. The Court is governed by The Court of Appeal Act, 2000, which sets out the composition and jurisdiction of the Court. It hears appeals from the Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan, the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan and a number of administrative tribunals.
The Court is based in Regina, Saskatchewan and consists of the Chief Justice - styled the "Chief Justice of Saskatchewan". Justices of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal are appointed and paid by the federal government.
Most cases are heard by a panel of three justices, however, the Court sits with panels of five or seven from time to time, depending on the appeal. A single justice will preside over matters heard in "chambers", usually interlocutory matters or applications for leave to appeal.

Original Jurisdiction

The Court has a limited original jurisdiction, giving it the discretion to grant relief by way of a prerogative writ. The Court has held that since it is primarily a court of appeal, it will only entertain original applications for prerogative relief in extraordinary circumstances. It also has any original jurisdiction that is necessary or incidental to the hearing and determination of an appeal.

History of the Court

The Court of Appeal was created on March 1, 1918, upon the coming into force of The Court of Appeal Act of 1915. Prior to that date, there was a single superior court for Saskatchewan, known as the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan, which had both appellate and trial jurisdiction. Individual members of the Supreme Court sat as trial judges, while the full Supreme Court Court heard appeals. The 1915 legislation split the appellate functions and the trial functions. The new Court of Appeal was established to take over the appellate function of the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan, and the new Court of King's Bench was created to take over the trial functions of the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan. The Supreme Court of Saskatchewan was abolished effective March 1, 1918.

Appeals to the Supreme Court

Appeals may be taken from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada either by right, by leave of the Supreme Court of Canada, or by leave of the Court of Appeal itself, depending on the nature of the case. Until 1949 appeals could further be taken from the Supreme Court of Canada to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. Appeals could also be taken directly from the Court of Appeal to the Privy Council.

Justices of the Court

Current Justices

The current justices of the Court are:
NameAppointedNominated ByPosition Prior to Appointment
Chief Justice Robert G. Richards2013
2004		Harper
Martin		Puisne Justice, Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
Lawyer at
Justice Ralph K. Ottenbreit2009HarperCourt of Queen's Bench
Justice Neal W. Caldwell2010HarperLawyer at McDougall, Gauley LLP.
Justice Lian M. Schwann2017J. TrudeauCourt of Queen's Bench
Justice Robert Leurer2018J. TrudeauCourt of Queen's Bench
Justice Brian Barrington-Foote2018J. TrudeauCourt of Queen's Bench
Justice Jerome Tholl2019J. TrudeauCourt of Queen's Bench
Justice Jeffery Kalmakoff2019J. TrudeauCourt of Queen's Bench

Supernumerary
NameAppointedNominated ByPosition Prior to Appointment
Justice Georgina R. Jackson1991MulroneyLawyer at
Justice Jacelyn A. Ryan-Froslie2013HarperCourt of Queen's Bench
Justice Peter A. Whitmore2013HarperCourt of Queen's Bench

Former Justices

Former Chief Justices of Saskatchewan

An asterisk indicates the individual also served as Chief Justice of Saskatchewan; a double asterisk indicates subsequently appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Courts of Saskatchewan

There are three main courts in Saskatchewan: