Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Feb 08/99) - Iqaluit's territorial judge, Beverly Browne, recently learned that she had been appointed to sit as the senior judge in Nunavut's single-level court system of justice.

The long-time resident of Baffin Island said she was excited about her new job and that while it was going to require a lot of hard work, she saw it as a wonderful opportunity for the new territory to gain more control over its own justice system.

News/North: I understand you've had a big job promotion?

Beverly Browne: The announcement has been made that as of April 1, 1999, I'll be the senior judge of the Nunavut court of justice.

News/North: Is that the top position?

Browne: It will be the top position resident in Nunavut. The court of appeal, which is the court that reviews any decisions of our court, will be a non-resident court of judges made up from various jurisdictions across the country.

News/North: What will the job entail?

Browne: The final piece of legislation that will create the Nunavut court of justice is in the senate and it hasn't quite been passed. What I'll tell you is what I think is going to happen.

As the senior judge, we'll be doing the territorial court work that I've done in the past in the Baffin region. Because Nunavut will take in the Kitikmeot and the Kivalliq, the Nunavut court of justice will be responsible for doing the territorial court work in those two regions.

We'll also be responsible for doing all the work previously done by the superior courts from Yellowknife. That involves mostly jury trials and civil cases. We'll also be taking on the responsibility of running the justice of the peace program in all of Nunavut.

There's all kinds of things that need to be looked at and need to be organized so they're run from this side of the territory rather than out of Yellowknife.

News/North: Will the circuits involve the staff in this office travelling to the other two regions or will you have separate staff in the Kitikmeot and the Kivalliq?

Browne: At this stage, the staff will be working out of Iqaluit. There's a lot of information the staff need to learn and become comfortable with. It will be a decision of the politicians if, at some stage, we split off into the regions.

News/North: How long have you been in Iqaluit?

Browne: I arrived here Jan. 1, 1990.

News/North: Were you a judge when you came here?

Browne: I was a lawyer before I came here. When I first graduated from law school, I articled in Yellowknife and then spent about one year in Yellowknife as a young lawyer and then moved to Alberta and was a lawyer there for quite a few years. Then I put my name forward as a territorial court judge position and was hired for that.

News/North: From your point of view from sitting on the bench, how have the courts changed? Is there more crime now?

Browne: I don't think I can comment on that. In all of the communities that we sit in, we have really active people in the community who support the work of the court. That is, we have elders who sit in court in all the communities, except Iqaluit, and they often do all kinds of things after court with the people they've seen in court. They provide great support for individuals who are having difficulties.

We also have a terrific justice of the peace program that is very active in the Baffin region.

All of those things were here before I got here, but we've continued to work on them and they really provide quite a bit of support for the court when it goes into places.

News/North: What else do you do in town?

Browne: I play the organ at the Anglican Church for the English service. About a year ago, we started a community orchestra and I play in that and help to organize that. I play the saxophone. We also run a music camp every summer, one week for kids, to acquaint them with music. As a result of our last music camp, we have a beginner band program that I help with after school one day a week. We're just starting to work on the music camp for next summer.

News/North: Aren't you also helping plan an Easter concert?

Browne: Because Nunavut falls just the day before Easter weekend, we thought it was important to have something to celebrate both events. We're putting on a version of the musical Godspell. We have a choir of about 30 voices and a band of guitars and keyboard players. We're just starting rehearsals now and it's quite exciting. Hopefully, I can play the saxophone in that. That's what I'd like to do, but we'll see. We're trying to include as many young people as possible so they have as much fun as possible over Nunavut. That's partly what Nunavut should be all about.

News/North: How else do you keep yourself busy?

Browne: I like to read books. I read books quite avidly, particularly on circuit when you actually get some time to read.

News/North: What kind of stuff do you read?

Browne: Murder mysteries or court stories.

News/North: On television and in movies, we always hear of judges being described as tough or as easy. How do people describe you as a judge?

Browne: I have no idea, it depends on who it is probably. I don't actually hear too much about what they call me behind my back.

News/North: Do you think you are strict in your court?

Browne: I don't know that I can comment on that.

News/North: Is it hard being a judge?

Browne: Some days are very, very difficult. There are some decisions that you have to make that you agonize over for hours and hours and hours and some decisions aren't that difficult.

News/North: Does it keep you awake at night?

Browne: No. There's a comfort level and you have to make sure that in the decisions you make, you're comfortable within yourself because if you're not, you'll have a hard time.

News/North: Is it hard on your children and your family when you travel so often?

Browne: I think it just builds character. They just have to learn to get along. It lets them spend some time with their father and that's great. I think the rules are different when I'm there and when I'm not there, but that's OK. Different isn't always bad.

News/North: Have they ever taken any flack from people or kids because of your job?

Browne: I don't think so. We've never really had any problems in town as a result of my job. I find that most people treat me with the utmost respect, just like I was an ordinary member of the community. There doesn't seem to be any distinction because of what I do and I think it's the same with my kids. Although, I went to a Mother's Day banquet with ny kids at Joamie school and the kids were all waiting at the door. I walked up to the door and there were a bunch of little kids saying, "Here comes the judge, here comes the judge."