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Blood Tribe lawyer named provincial judge |
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Written by Lethbridge Herald
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Wednesday, March 18 2009, 10:08 PM |
A Blood Tribe lawyer was one of three new judges appointed Wednesday to the Provincial Court of Alberta.
Eugene Creighton will assume his duties in Calgary regional provincial court starting April 6. The other two appointees — Gordon Krinke with the southern regional provincial court and John Henderson with Edmonton criminal provincial court — will start Monday.
Creighton graduated from the University of Alberta law school in 1985. He acted as in-house counsel to the Blood Tribe band from 1986-1994. In 1994, he joined Walsh Wilkins, where he assisted First Nations in negotiating claims and agreements and advised in areas of aboriginal law.
In 1999, Creighton became a partner and in 2002 the firm’s name was changed to Walsh Wilkins Creighton LLP. At the time of his appointment, he was assisting and advising the Blood Tribe in developing its tribal justice system with plans for a provincial court on the Blood Reserve and a peacemaking system.
He has conducted lectures and workshops on aboriginal issues at the University of Lethbridge and Red Crow Community College. In 1980, Creighton became the first chairman of the Blood Tribe police commission.
In 2005, he was named the Alberta Aboriginal Role Model in Justice. Creighton was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2007.
The Alberta Judicial Council screens all candidates for provincial court appointments and forwards a list of recommended applicants to the nominating committee. That committee, established in 1990, is appointed by the minister of justice and represents the Alberta Provincial Court, the Law Society of Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association (Alberta branch), other members of the legal profession and the public.
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