Judge Corrine Sparks is retiring after 34 years behind the bench.
She was the first African Canadian judge in the province of Nova Scotia.
Sparks was born and raised in Lake Loon, and completed her law degree at Dalhousie University in 1979.
Judge Sparks practiced private law until her appointment to family court in 1987.
She was responsible for launching a judicial mentorship initiative with the Schulich School of Law to support African Nova Scotian and Indigenous lawyers interested in applying to become a judge.
Sparks also helped organize judicial engagement sessions with the African Nova Scotian community in Cherry Brook in 2018 and Whitney Pier, Cape Breton in 2019.
The sessions were designed to enhance the administration of justice by broadening the horizons and skills of judges in order to better appreciate the challenges facing African Nova Scotians, particularly in the context of the justice system.
Sparks will remain busy with her new duty of serving as one of two commissioners adjudicating disputes over land ownership in historic African Nova Scotian communities.
This work is part of the Land Titles Initiative the Province of Nova Scotia launched in 2017 to help residents get clear title to land in East Preston, North Preston, Cherry Brook/Lake Loon, Lincolnville and Sunnyville.
