Chief Judge Melissa Gillespie has announced the appointment of four new judges.

It is my great pleasure and privilege to announce that the Lieutenant Governor in Council has signed Orders in Council appointing four judges to the Provincial Court. The new judge appointments are Ariana Ward, James Henry, Brian Dybwad, and Mylene de Guzman.

It is my great pleasure and privilege to announce that the Lieutenant Governor in Council has signed Orders in Council appointing four new judges to the Provincial Court, and re-appointing one senior Provincial Court judge.

The new judge appointments are Ariana Ward, James Henry, Brian Dybwad, and Mylene de Guzman. 

Judge Ward – will be sworn in on March 28, 2025. She will be assigned to the Vancouver region with chambers at Main Street.

Judge Ward has been a lawyer for 27 years. She has worked in almost every area of the BC Prosecution Service. From 2008-2017, she worked for the BCPS in a weekend bail pilot project. Returning to North Vancouver in 2018, she has worked as trial counsel. Committed to indigenous reconciliation, during her time in North Vancouver she has been counsel in the Indigenous sentencing court there. She has contributed to the legal community, judging in the UBC Moot Court Program and working as a sessional instructor at Douglas College in the Criminology department.

Judge Henry - will be sworn in on March 21, 2025. He will be assigned to the Fraser region with chambers in Abbotsford.

Called to the BC bar in 1996, Judge Henry has been working as Crown counsel since 2017. For twenty years before this, he worked as defence counsel in Surrey and the Fraser Valley. In 2022, he was appointed as Administrative Crown overseeing the scheduling of more than 50 prosecutors in the Surrey office. Judge Henry is Metis and is member of the Nova Metis Heritage Association, serving on its Board of Directors.  

Judge Dybwad – will be sworn in on March 21, 2025. He will be assigned to the Vancouver Island region with chambers in Campbell River.

Called to the BC bar in 2010, Judge Dybwad graduated from University of Victoria in 1998. He began his legal career on the North Island, mostly working in Campbell River. From 2015 to 2017, he was the president of the Campbell River Bar Association, member at large at the BC Law Institute, and in 2022 was elected, and in 2024 re-elected, as a Bencher of the Law Society.   Shifting his employment to Legal Aid BC in 2018, Judge Dybwad was the Managing Lawyer for the Parents Legal Centre in Campbell River until 2022. From July 2022 onward, he has held managing lawyer positions at Legal Aid BC. 

Judge de Guzman – will be sworn in on March 28, 2025. She will be assigned to the Fraser region with chambers in Surrey.

Born in the Philippines, Judge de Guzman and her family immigrated to Canada when she was very young. She attended the University of Windsor, obtaining her law degree in 1995. Articling at Greig, Skagen & Kennedy, she has worked as a family law lawyer in New Westminster and the Fraser Valley for most of her career. She obtained her accreditation as a family law mediator and arbitrator in 2015. She was on the roster of Access Pro Bono Lawyers, participating in legal clinics and conducting mediations. She is also a member of Amici Curiae Friendship Society, participating as a guest speaker and lecturer for legal clinics. She has worked tirelessly as a volunteer in the legal community, taking on executive roles including the New West Bar Association President’s position in 2022, and prior to her appointment, was the first vice president of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch. 

The senior judge being re-appointed for a one year term effective April 1, 2025 is Judge Gurm Gill.

The Court congratulates its newest colleagues on their appointments and welcomes them to the Provincial Court.