The Honourable George Valin was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 1990. He retired in 2019 following 28 years of judicial service during which he presided over criminal and civil, jury and non-jury cases. In civil matters, he settled and tried cases covering numerous areas, including professional negligence, insurance claims, personal injury, wills interpretation, commercial disputes, breach of contract, wrongful dismissal, real property, boundary disputes, construction, family law, and estate litigation.
Prior to his appointment to the Bench, George practiced in North Bay, dealing with similar litigious matters, together with mortgage remedies, minor sport, municipal, and education litigation.
During his judicial career, George earned a reputation for fairness and success in conducting effective judicial pre-trials in civil matters, using evaluative and facilitative techniques, depending on the wishes of counsel and their clients. He is known for his ability to grasp and focus on issues quickly, to treat parties, witnesses, and counsel politely, and to render decisions expeditiously. George has particular interest and expertise in Early Neutral Evaluation. He looks forward to assisting parties to reach reasonable, fair, and cost-effective solutions to their disputes.
George earned a Bachelor of Arts from St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto in 1965. He graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1968. He was called to the bar, with honours, in 1970. He was a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Advocates’ Society, and the Nipissing Law Association (President 1985-1987). He served as a member and chair of the Scollard Hall Secondary School Board from 1978 to 1985. He also served on the Board of Governors of Nipissing University from 1978 to 1987, as a member of North Bay City Council from 1978 to 1985, and on the City of North Bay Police Commission from 1986 to 1990 (Chair 1987-1990).
During his judicial career, George sat regularly on the Divisional Court, hearing administrative and civil appeals. He served on the Chief Justice’s Library and Technology Committees. He also served on the executive of the Ontario Superior Court Judges’ Association from 1996 to 2006 (President 2000-2002). He was the Local Administrative Judge in Nipissing from 1993 to 2005. In 2011, the Chief Justice appointed him to chair the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission, responsible for the redistribution of federal electoral boundaries in the Province of Ontario following the 2011 census.
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