The Honourable Thomas J. Gove was recognized for his outstanding and sustained contributions to justice, public safety and service.
Judge Gove served in the justice system first as a lawyer for 16 years and then as a provincial court judge for 31 years before retiring in 2021. He earned a reputation for fairness and compassion in helping people receive treatment and get onto better paths.
As a lawyer, he specialized in family, child welfare and criminal law. Known for his work representing the Province of British Columbia in child protection cases and defending young offenders, he was also one of the first lawyers in Canada to represent children in custody disputes.
He was appointed a judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia in 1990. In 1994 he was appointed by the provincial government as the Commissioner on the Gove Inquiry into Child Protection. The resulting report led to the creation of the Ministry for Children and Families, the provincial Children’s Commissioner, and many reforms of the child protection system in B.C.
Judge Gove helped spearhead the creation of Vancouver’s Downtown Community Court (DCC) for which he was the presiding judge from its launch in 2008. The DCC uses a problem-solving approach to moving offenders convicted of less serious crimes out of the criminal justice system and into drug treatment, housing and employment. He was also one of the pioneers of establishing alternative dispute resolution in child custody court cases, paving the way for mediation becoming a standard process today.
Judge Gove is a recipient of The JIBC Foundation’s first Anthony P. Pantages, Q.C., Award (1996) and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002). He earned a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws, both from the University of British Columbia.