New Judges Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice

The Honourable Doug Downey, Attorney General of Ontario, is pleased to announce the appointment of three new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective June 18, 2026.

Justice Boris Bytensky was called to the Ontario bar in 1993. He began his legal career at Goodman & Goodman before establishing his own practice in Toronto’s Russian-language community, and then at a new firm he formed with Leo Adler. In 2010, he became a partner at the law firm now known as Bytensky Shikhman. Over the last 30 years, Justice Bytensky has focused primarily on criminal trials and appeals for all types of charges, in addition to professional discipline and tribunal proceedings. He has appeared numerous times before the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, in addition to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench and the Ontario Court of Justice. Justice Bytensky is the past president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association of Ontario and spent 16 years as a member of its governing body.

Justice Bytensky served as the ombudsman for the Thornhill Community Hockey League and, for more than 20 years, he was the head coach of numerous minor league hockey teams. For four years, he was the chair of the board of directors of Downsview Community Legal Services, a legal clinic governed by Legal Aid Ontario. Justice Bytensky is also an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, teaching trial advocacy to upper-year law students.

Justice Bytensky graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Bytensky to Newmarket.

Justice Carson MacDonald Coughlin was called to the Ontario bar in 2004. He began his legal career as an assistant Crown attorney with the Peel Crown Attorney’s Office in Brampton, where he prosecuted serious and complex criminal cases. In 2023, Justice Coughlin was appointed as general counsel, a designation held by a limited number of lawyers in the Ministry of the Attorney General. In this role, he continued to prosecute serious criminal cases and provided guidance to colleagues and various police agencies regarding complex legal issues. In late 2025, Justice Coughlin accepted a position working on the Mega Case Team out of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Complex Prosecution Bureau. He has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice. Throughout his career as counsel, Justice Coughlin was extensively involved in providing legal education to Crown counsel, police and members of the bar.

Justice Coughlin served as the chairperson of the board of directors for Victim Services of Peel, an agency that ensures victims of crime in crisis have timely access to available community supports. He also served on the board of directors for Brampton Caledon Community Living, a not-for-profit community agency that supports and empowers people who have an intellectual disability to lead enriched and meaningful lives. Justice Coughlin was also involved in community outreach and speaking to high school students about the criminal justice system and the role of the Crown attorney.

Justice Coughlin graduated from the Queen’s University Faculty of Law.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Coughlin to Brampton.

Justice Vincent André François Paris was called to the Ontario bar in 1998. He began his legal career with the Ministry of the Attorney General as an assistant Crown attorney in Toronto, prosecuting trials at busy downtown courthouses. In 2004, Justice Paris became a Crown advisor to the Toronto Police Service’s Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force and created a firearm testing program where he conducted training across the province. As a result of his work in wiretapping, search and seizure, firearms and organized crime, Justice Paris was involved in training, as well as organized crime and firearm-related projects across the world, including in the United States and Mexico. He also supported the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Research Institute. Justice Paris was appointed general counsel in 2019 by the Ministry of the Attorney General and recognized as King’s Counsel in 2023.

Justice Paris and his family have volunteered with a church food bank in Brampton, assisting those in need. He also worked with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in Toronto and Halifax, providing transformative mentoring to youth.

Justice Paris graduated from the Dalhousie School of Law at Dalhousie University.

Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas has assigned Justice Paris to Toronto.

• Read about the Ontario Court of Justice
• Read about the appointment of judges to the Ontario Court of Justice