The Honourable Simon Ruel was elevated to the Court of Appeal of Quebec on June 21, 2017, after having sat on the Quebec Superior Court from 2014 to 2017. Justice Ruel studied law at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Law. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and is currently completing a certificate in Slavic studies at Université Laval’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

As a lawyer, Justice Ruel practised mainly in public and administrative law and in governmental affairs. He was a member of the Quebec Bar (1995) and of the Law Society of Ontario (2007). After beginning his career with the firm of Grey Casgrain in Montreal, he subsequently became a litigator and counsel to the federal Department of Justice, the Privy Council Office, and the Department of Finance in Montreal and in Ottawa. Before his appointment to the Superior Court, he was a partner at the firm of BCF Business Law in Quebec City and, prior to that, at the national firm Heenan Blaikie.

Justice Ruel participated as counsel in numerous federal and provincial public inquiries and investigations. These included the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, the Cornwall Public Inquiry, and the Commission of Inquiry on the Process for Appointing Judges presided by the Honourable Michel Bastarache. He participated in the coroner’s inquest into deaths caused by an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in Quebec City in 2012, and also appeared before the Manitoba Court of Appeal to represent the Manitoba Commission of Inquiry into the Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Phoenix Sinclair. Justice Ruel also advised the Canadian Judicial Council on reforms to the disciplinary process for judges and, subsequently, was a member of the Council’s Judicial Independence Committee that was tasked with revising the Ethical Principles for Judges, which were updated in 2021.

In addition to practising law, Justice Ruel taught public and administrative law at the Quebec Bar School and lectured on civil and commercial evidence at the University of Ottawa. He has authored or co-authored numerous legal publications, articles and commentaries on public and administrative law and on inquiries. He has also participated as a speaker, host, or moderator in a number of legal events on topics covering judicial ethics, public and administrative law, public inquiries and investigations, criminal and penal law, the use of technology in the justice system, and judgment writing. Justice Ruel has served as chair of the Quebec Judicial Committee on Information Security (“COMSI”) and chair of the Judges Section of the Canadian Bar Association. He is currently a puisne member of the Judicial Independence Committee of the Canadian Judicial Council and co-chair of the Council’s social media subcommittee.

Justice Ruel was appointed to the Court of Appeal on June 21, 2017.