B.C.’s chief judge, Thomas Crabtree, called to the Supreme Court bench

CHILLIWACK, B.C. – The judge believed to be the first in Canada to host social media town halls is moving onto the British Columbia Supreme Court.

Provincial court Chief Judge Thomas J. Crabtree has been appointed to the higher court in Chilliwack after spending 19 years on the provincial bench.

A statement from the provincial court says Crabtree led the modernization of the court’s online presence by hosting Twitter town halls, expanding a plain-language website, and publishing biweekly news articles.

Crabtree is also credited with the development of five Indigenous sentencing courts across the province.

Associate Chief Judge Melissa Gillespie says in the statement that the court will miss Crabtree’s “thoughtful leadership, endless energy, and openness to innovative solutions to the challenges facing the court.”

Crabtree also oversaw the development and implementation of a new trial scheduling model, served on the executive of Access to Justice B.C., and sat on the board of directors of the National Judicial institute.

Gillespie has been appointed as the provincial court’s acting chief judge.

The Ministry of the Attorney General says in a statement that she was sworn in as a provincial court judge and has worked for several years in the Fraser region.