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Login to watch this video if you have a subscription. Learn more about subscriptions.Ian Vallance, Julie Audet, Mary Fraser, and Nicole Tellier present the Spousal Support Panel.
Prior to her appointment to the bench, Justice Julie Audet practised as a family lawyer, mediator, and collaborative practitioner in the Ottawa and eastern Ontario regions. Fluently bilingual, she graduated from the National Program (LL.B./LL.L.) at the University of Ottawa with the highest honours in 1996 and completed an LL.M. in family law at Osgoode Hall Law School in 2011. Justice Audet has taught family law at the University of Ottawa; led the family law component of the Law Society of Upper Canada's Law Practice Program (in French); and co-authored a textbook, L'essentiel du droit de la famille dans les provinces et territoires de common law au Canada, with the late Professor Nicole Laviolette. Justice Audet is well-known in her community for her involvement in pilot projects and committees related to the family justice system and her commitment to helping couples separate with dignity. She co-founded ALT Divorce and Family Law in A Box, two companies aimed at providing services and educational programs on family law to members of the public.
Raised in the Gaspé Peninsula in a modest and hard-working Francophone family, Justice Audet studied in Montreal, worked in Calgary, and completed her education in Ottawa – where she finally settled, grew strong community roots, and raised her own family.
Avant sa nomination à la magistrature, la juge Julie Audet pratiquait le droit familial à Ottawa et dans la région de l’est de l’Ontario, incluant à titre de médiatrice et de praticienne collaborative. Complètement bilingue, elle a obtenu avec les plus hautes distinctions un diplôme du Programme national (LL.B./LL.L.) de l’Université d’Ottawa en 1996 et complété une maîtrise en droit familial à l’école de droit Osgoode Hall en 2011. La juge Audet a enseigné le droit familial à l’Université d’Ottawa, dirigé la composante de droit familial du programme de pratique du droit du Barreau du Haut-Canada (en français), et co-écrit L’essentiel du droit de la famille dans les provinces et territoires de common law au Canada avec la défunte professeure Nicole Laviolette. La juge Audet est bien connue dans sa communauté pour son implication au sein de nombreux projets pilotes et comités reliés au système judiciaire familial et son engagement à aider les couples à se séparer en toute dignité. Elle est cofondatrice d’ALT Divorce et de Family Law in A Box, deux entreprises à travers lesquelles les membres du public ont accès à des services et des programmes d’information reliés au droit familial. Née d’une famille francophone modeste et travaillante de la péninsule gaspésienne, elle a étudié à Montréal, travaillé à Calgary et complété ses études à Ottawa où elle s’est finalement solidement enracinée dans la communauté, où elle a élevé sa famille.
Justice Mary Fraser - Justice Mary Fraser graduated with her law degree from Queen’s University in 1988. She was called to the bar in 1990. In her early years as a lawyer, she practised around civil litigation in both Toronto and Ottawa. In 1994, she returned to her hometown of Pembroke. For the past 25 years, she has maintained a successful and busy practice providing a wide range of services to her clients, principally in the areas of family law, estate planning and administration, estate litigation, and real estate. She acted for children in family proceedings on behalf of the Office of the Children's Lawyer for over a decade. Justice Fraser has successfully advocated for clients at all levels of court, including the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. She has presided part-time as a Deputy Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario since 2016. Justice Fraser is a past President of the Renfrew County Law Association and sat on the Executive of this association in varying capacities for a ten-year period. She is a past member of the Pembroke Police Services Board and served as a Trustee for Wesley United Church (Pembroke). She presently sits on the Board of Valley Heritage Radio. Her greatest joy has been derived from providing keyboard accompaniment for her children’s fiddle music at numerous community events and fundraisers.
Ian Vallance is a senior partner at Victor Ages Vallance and has practiced exclusively in the area of family law since his call to the Bar in Ontario in 1990. Ian's approach to family law is solutions based and practical. His extensive trial and appellate experience (including many reported decisions from the Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Appeal) is balanced with his training in mediation and collaborative family law. This balance is key to his success in resolving the most difficult cases often involving complex property, support, and high conflict custody/access issues. Negotiating, drafting and reviewing all forms of domestic contracts including Marriage Contracts, Cohabitation Agreements, and Separation Agreements is also integral to his practice. Ian has authored and co-authored numerous articles on family law including the Custody and Access chapter of the Law Society of Upper Canada's Bar Admission Course. He is also a regular speaker at various family law conferences and teacher of family law.