Chief Judge Melissa Gillespie has announced the appointment of a new judge.

It is my great pleasure and privilege to announce that the Lieutenant Governor in Council has signed an Order in Council appointing a judge to the Provincial Court. The new judge appointment is Colleen Spier. 

Judge Spier 

Judge Spier will be sworn in on July 7, 2025. She will be assigned to the Vancouver Island region with chambers in Nanaimo.

Judge Spier graduated from the University of British Columbia Allard Faculty of Law in April, 2007. Initially her practice focussed on child protection and family law, but most recently she has worked with the Attorney General’s Ministry as the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Indigenous Justice Secretariat. Judge Spier has worked closely with the Provincial Court on many initiatives, and in particular in relation to the Indigenous sentencing courts. In 2007, she served as a judicial clerk in the initial group of students in the Court’s Externship Program. Her legal work has been varied and impactful. She has received a number of awards that recognize her contributions to the legal profession, including: the King Charles III medal [2024]; a King’s Counsel designation [2023]; and, in 2022, the Susanna Jani Award supporting Excellence in Mediation.