Biography of Claude Provencher

Claude Provencher was appointed Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs on 
July 30, 2008.

Born in Montreal in 1964, Claude Provencher earned a law degree from the Université de Montréal in 1988 and was called to the Barreau du Québec in 1989.  He earned a graduate degree in management in 2001 and a Master of Business Administration in 2002 from Montreal’s École des hautes études commerciales.  In June 2008, Mr. Provencher was appointed a Government of Canada Fellow.

Until his appointment as Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs, Mr. Provencher held the position of Registar of the Federal Court, then Director General of Judicial Services for the Quebec, Atlantic and Nunavut regions with the Courts Administration Service.  In 2003-2004, he was Senior Policy Advisor for Intergovernmental Affairs with the Privy Council Office.  In 2002, Mr. Provencher joined the Department of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada as Regional Director of the War Crimes and Anti-Terrorism Unit.

Previously, Mr. Provencher worked at the Department of Justice of Canada for 12 years, where he practised administrative, civil and tax litigation.  During that time, he had the opportunity to plead many cases before the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada and provincial common law courts.

Mr. Provencher is a member of the board of directors of the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada, the Association of Canadian Courts Administrators and the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice.  He is also a member of the Barreau du Québec, the Canadian Bar Association, the International Association of Court Administrators, Transparency International and the International Commission of Jurists.  He was a decision-making member of the disciplinary committee of the Barreau du Québec from 2002 to 2007.  He was also a consultant in international cooperation projects with the judiciary in Ukraine, Russia and China.