The province says their newest provincial court judges will serve in Winnipeg, effective immediately.

Justice Minister Cliff Cullen says he is pleased to be appointing two new judges. 

“Both of these individuals have demonstrated exemplary service to their communities over many years as attorneys in various capacities, and each is well-suited to sit on the provincial court of Manitoba.”

Cindy Lee Sholdice and Samuel Raposo are the two newest names to sit in this position.

Sholdice sits on the Board of Directors for Lutheran Church Canada, as a lay member, something she has been doing since 2014. She also volunteers at her local church. The province says she enjoys volunteering in sports and music-related programs.

The province says since 1998, Sholdice has served as a Crown attorney with Manitoba Prosecution Service. Sholdice previously worked as the supervising senior Crown attorney with the High-Risk Offender Unit as well as the General Prosecutions Unit. She is also the Crown advisor on Project Devote. Project Devote is a task force focussing on the cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

"Her work in the High Risk Offender Unit has given her significant exposure to, and appreciation of, the needs of individuals who suffer from mental health illness, as well as the opportunity to work with experts in this field," the province says in a statement.

Sholdice has also worked Mental Disorders Working Group, the Mental Health Collaboration Committee (Probation Services) and represented the Crown at numerous Review Board hearings.

"In her role as general counsel, she enjoyed the responsibility of being a mentor to both junior and senior Crown attorneys in the office."

The province says she presented a resolution at the Uniform Law Conference of Canada recommending a restorative-based initiative in 2018.

Samuel Raposo is the other newly-appointed judge. The province says his work as deputy executive director of Legal Aid Manitoba from 2008 to 2019 led to increased access to legal help, including weekend bail projects, evening and overnight bail programs, a clinical family law course (Robson Hall/Legal Aid Manitoba), an out-of-court family resolution project, pre-approval of out-of-custody matters and a staff criminal youth defence office reorganization.

Last year Raposo was appointed executive director and chief executive officer of Legal Aid Manitoba.

"As a private bar and staff attorney, he has acted on behalf of hundreds of individuals in criminal, family and child protection cases. Over the past 22 years, he has represented and assisted hundreds of disadvantaged individuals, particularly Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and social assistance recipients."

Also serving on the Canadian Mental Health Association (Winnipeg Branch) and the Community Legal Education Association's boards, Raposo works with multiple community groups. 

"He also recently served as a member of the Law Society of Manitoba’s Access to Justice Steering Committee, the Complaints Investigation Committee, and served as one of the Law Society’s representatives at the National Action Committee on Access to Justice."

He has also worked as the University of Manitoba Community Law Centre's supervising attorney and was part of the Manitoba Mentor Program.

"Sholdice and Raposo were selected from a list of candidates recommended by the judicial appointment committee, chaired by Chief Judge Margaret Wiebe. This committee also included three community representatives, from the Law Society of Manitoba, the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Bar Association and a provincial court judge."

While a date has yet to be set, the province says there will be an official swearing-in ceremony.