Canada's Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Canada currently consists of, front row, left to right, Justices Marie Deschamps, Ian Binnie, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, Louis LeBel and Morris Fish; back row, left to right, Marshall Rothstein, Rosalie Silberman Abella, Louise Charron and Thomas Cromwell. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Justice Ian Binnie, 72, and Justice Louise Charron, 60, have written to Federal Justice Minister Robert Nicholson, to inform him of their plans, both effective Aug. 30, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said Friday in a release. Binnie has indicated a willingness to stay longer if needed during the judge-selection process.
Justice Louise Charron "It has been an honour and a privilege to serve on the Supreme Court of Canada since January 1998," Binnie wrote. "Much as I will miss the work and my colleagues, I am now well into my 14th year on the court, and the time has come to return to Toronto to pick up some of the threads of an earlier existence."

Charron said her reasons for retiring are quite simple: she recently turned 60.
"As promised when I took the oath of office, I have brought to this task my best, every day, whatever that could be at the time," she said. "I hope that I have lived up to the trust and honour that was bestowed upon me."With several justices nearing retirement, Harper was expected to be able to appoint replacements, but it was thought he would have more time to work with.Binnie has been on the Supreme Court since 1998 and was due to retire within the next three years.Justice Ian Binnie Charron joined the bench in 2004, but is stepping down well before the mandatory retirement age of 75.

McLachlin says she hopes the government makes the selection of new justices a priority and uses the care and deliberation that is required. Binnie was born in Montreal and graduated in law from the University of Toronto in 1965. He also has two law degrees from Cambridge University. He was a litigator with Wright & McTaggart and its successor firms until 1982, then became an associate deputy minister of justice with the federal government. Binnie was a senior partner at McCarthy Tétrault from 1986 to 1998, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court.

Charron was born in Sturgeon Falls, Ont., and graduated in law from the University of Ottawa in 1975. She practised with the firm Lalonde, Chartrand & Gouin in civil litigation, then began a career as an assistant Crown attorney and district court judge. She was promoted to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1995, and to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2004