The new judges, almost of whom have backgrounds in criminal law, will bring the judicial complement of the court up to 131.80 full-time equivalent judges, only 12 fewer judges than the court's complement in 2005.
The Chief Judge, in a statement (PDF) released later today, observes that a number of vacancies are foreseeable over the course of 2013 because of judges retiring or moving to part-time status and notes that the increase in the number of Provincial Court judges resulting from the new appointments will be short lived as a result:
"I am encouraged by today's announcement regarding the appointment of nine new Provincial Court Judges. As Chief Judge, my focus is on identifying and meeting the ongoing needs of the Court, including increasing accessibility to the Court.
"The early replacement of several Judges scheduled to retire or join the senior program in 2013 will provide some capacity to assist in reducing the case backlog."
