January 14, 2021
Province Announces Appointment of Senior Master of the Court of Queen's Bench
Manitoba Justice advises that Master Karen Clearwater has been appointed as Senior Master of the Court of Queen’s Bench.
Clearwater has been a master in Manitoba since 2016, presiding as a judicial officer over a large variety of motions and hearings relating to civil, family and child protection matters in Winnipeg, The Pas, Selkirk, Portage, Morden and Thompson. Clearwater also serves as a sworn registrar in bankruptcy for Manitoba. She is a member of the standard clauses committee for the family law division and the judicial decisions distribution committee, and has been a presenter in various Law Society and Canadian Bar Association continuing education seminars.
From 2010 to 2016, Clearwater was the regional director of labour relations and senior legal counsel, human resources, at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. From 1996 to 2010, she worked at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP, where she completed her articles with the firm in 1999 and eventually became partner in 2008.
Masters are judicial officers within the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba. Like judges, they make decisions based on the law and evidence presented to them. They handle both civil and family matters in the Court of Queen’s Bench, including child protection, bankruptcy, assessing the value of family property and assessing records of committees and executors of estates.
Clearwater’s appointment as Senior Master was recommended by the Masters Appointment Committee.
- 30 -