Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 11/02) - Earl Johnson went to a career counsellor in high school and was told he should be a dentist. He didn't take the advice and decided to become a lawyer.

Today, Johnson is the third judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice.

Earl Johnson

He's made several decisions in his life that got him to where he is today, and he's happy with all of them.

"I can remember at one point considering a career in the construction business," said Johnson.

Back in the 1970s, Johnson was making about $240 a week during the summers in construction. When it was time to go back to law school he got paid about $60 a week to article.

This always made it hard to go back to school.

Now, he knows he did the right thing.

Johnson has been practising law since 1972. He began in New Brunswick and then two years later he made a jump to the Northwest Territories.

"A lot of people at that the time were going to go up North for a couple of years, look around and then head back down south," said Johnson.

But a lot of people, like Johnson, also ended up staying.

He arrived in Iqaluit Sept. 9. He has since moved into a home in Apex and his family and belongings have arrived from Yellowknife.

"I just got the first shipment of our furnishings. I don't have any cooking utensils though," said Johnson.

Not only is Johnson adjusting to life in Nunavut, he's adjusting to his new job. He has been a judge for a little over three months now.

Johnson hopes to take a little bit of the pressure off of Justice Brown and Justice Kilpatrick.

He said they basically started the court from scratch back in April, 1999.

Having a third judge will allow the load to be spread more evenly, said Johnson, especially when it comes to travelling the circuit.

He'd also like to take a leadership role when it comes to the increasing number of civil cases in the territory. Johnson says he brings a fair amount of expertise to the bench when it comes to civil matters.

The past couple of weeks for Johnson have been pretty hectic but he said that it's all part of the process.

"There's a large docket, a lot of charges and a lot of people coming through," said Johnson.

Whether he gets to know Nunavut in the courtroom or while out wandering about, he says he's ready for it all.