Petra Newton is an arbitrator and mediator with ADR Chambers.
Ms. Newton is a retired Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (1989 to 2024).
As a judge, Ms. Newton presided over proceedings in a variety of criminal cases. The cases involved complex evidentiary rulings, forensic issues, charter, and warrant applications. She assessed the evidence, the credibility and reliability of witnesses in a fair and balanced manner providing oral and written judgments expeditiously. Ms. Newton also presided over prosecutions pursuant to a variety of federal and provincial regulatory legislation.
Ms. Newton dealt with major sentence hearings where she assessed viva voci evidence, reviewed exhibits including victim impact statements, pre-sentence, Gladue, psychiatric and medical reports. She conducted numerous judicial pre-trial hearings and case management conferences where she considered the strength of the parties’ cases, the evidentiary issues and provided a realistic assessment of the positions of the parties.
Between 2005 and 2018 Ms. Newton was on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges (CCIAWJ) and served as President from 2009 to 2011. She was elected to the World Board of Directors of the International Association of Women Judges representing North America from 2014 to 2018. Ms. Newton is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges.
Ms. Newton was also a speaker at numerous national and international conferences including “Incarcerated Women” in London England, “Restorative Justice from a Canadian Perspective” in the Philippines, and at the “Summit of Women Judges and Prosecutors on Human Trafficking and Organized Crime” at the Vatican.
Ms. Newton has extensive experience in advocacy. She participated on a panel of judges at the Gale Moot from 1990 to 2019 and was Chair from 1999 to 2001. The Newton Prize for Civility in Advocacy was instituted in 2019 and is presented annually at the Awards Banquet. She was a member of the Teaching Faculty of the Osgoode Hall Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop and of the Ontario Crown Attorneys Association Trial Advocacy course.
Ms. Newton was a Trained Facilitator for the Ontario Court of Justice and a facilitator at several Ontario Court conferences. She was Chair of the Law Society of Upper Canada program “Tips from the Bench for Paralegals” and a panelist at the National Conference on Aboriginal Criminal Justice.
Prior to her appointment to the Bench, Ms. Newton appeared in all levels of court in Ontario as both Crown and Defence Counsel in cases pertaining to the Criminal Code of Canada, Narcotic Control Act, Food and Drugs Act, Competition Act, Canada Labour Code, Unemployment Insurance Act, Hazardous Products Act and the Income Tax Act. She had carriage of Judge Alone and jury trials entailing complex conspiracies, evidence of intercepted private communications and issues under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Previously, Ms. Newton was with the Department of Justice in Ottawa seconded to the Legal Sector, Department of Supply and Services. She was exposed to commercial and procurement matters as a member of the Contracts Approval Board and Legal Advisor to the New Fighter Aircraft, the CF-18 Hornet.
Ms. Newton was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1976 and the Ontario Bar in 1979.
