N.S. names first African Nova Scotian chief judge

Nova Scotia has a new chief judge of the provincial court. Perry F. Borden, 51, willtakeover from Pamela Williams who's held the post for the last ten years.

JudgeBorden is the first African Nova Scotian to hold the position.

He is from north-end Halifax and graduated with a law degree from Dalhousie's Schulich School of Law in 2002. He was named a Queen's counsel in 2020. Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2020, Borden was a senior Crown attorney in the Halifax area and served as president of the Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys Association. In 2019, he led the association in a somewhat-acrimoniousbattle with the government over wages.

As a lawyer, Borden worked to improve access to justice and legal services for historically marginalized groups, serving on theNova Scotia Barristers' Society racial equity committee.

In the chief judge position, he will be responsible for scheduling court sittings, assigning judges and hearing cases. The chief judge also oversees justices of the peace.

Borden also inherits some issues from Williams who spoke of the stresses judges are facingduring her last weeks in office.

Williams advocacy put her at odds with Justice Minister Brad Johns.

Borden officially assumes his new role on Sunday.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check outBeing Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.