Julie Druker | Jul 23, 2014


Judge Peter Wright delivered his final judgments at the Sharbot Lake Criminal Court on July 21, wrapping up a 15-year stint there.

Wright began his service in Sharbot Lake in 1999 and has been happy serving the small rural community. “It seems like yesterday that I started coming up here,” Wright said on his final day. He recalled when he first heard about the quaint community hall/courtroom in Sharbot Lake with its “curtained stage, and the wheel-out dais”, but he said, “It was a delight to be here”.

The Sharbot Lake Criminal Court was the last satellite court of Kingston to be set up. Established in 1999, the court was set up to address a backlog in the Kingston courts. Ottawa was called in to address the Kingston backlog and Wright, who at that time was serving in Ottawa, was asked by the regional senior justice there to take on the position in Sharbot Lake. Wright recalled agreeing initially to take the position for one year. “I didn't know what it would be like out here and here I am 15 years later.”

Wright is moving to Perth next month and will stand as the resident judge there, replacing Judge Steve March who is retiring this month. The move also entails Wright giving up his Ottawa office. The switch will make it difficult for him to continuing serving in Sharbot Lake and though he said he loves the Sharbot Lake community, he believes it will be difficult to continue working here while also serving in Perth.

The most challenging part of serving in Sharbot Lake, Wright recalled, was not knowing anyone here at first. The other difficulty was the huge backlog of cases. “We had cases that had been adjourned for a year with no set dates and it was hard to put the brakes on those adjournments. It went against the practice that was happening here, which was due to the fact that there was a different judge here every month. Understandably, it's hard to be the tough guy when you are only here for one day.”

Asked if he has regrets, Wright said his time serving in Sharbot Lake has been enjoyable, rewarding and a nice break from Ottawa. Asked about the challenges of moving to Perth, Wright said that locally things always tend to be done a bit differently, “But that is what makes things fun and a learning experience.”

When asked what makes a good judge, Wright said it’s the ability to listen. “We have two ears and one mouth so it's probably important to listen twice as much as you speak. I do not know how you can judge if you do not listen to what people are saying.” Asked if he has always known that, Wright said that when he first became a judge, it was tempting to still be a lawyer, to ask all of the questions and to jump in and argue with people. “That is not the role of a judge. As a judge you have to listen, give people their say and let people tell you their story. If you do not do that then you miss the opportunity to try to incorporate people’s experiences, what they have done and seen, and what the lawyers have to say.” Wright studied law at the University of Ottawa and was called to the bar in 1979. He practiced in Ottawa until he was appointed to the bench in 1993. On his final day in court in Sharbot Lake, both Duty Counsel Doug Caldwell and Provincial Crown Counsel Liz Foxton paid special verbal tributes to him.

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