The Honourable Michael D. Tochor was appointed to the Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan in 2018.
Prior to his appointment to the Bench, Associate Chief Justice Tochor was a partner at the Regina Litigation Group of MLT Aikins LLP. He had extensive involvement in administrative and public law matters, and acted on behalf of various regulatory bodies and for clients appearing before administrative tribunals. He was also chair of the Saskatchewan Police Commission from 2002 to 2008. A significant part of his practice involved acting in labour arbitrations and occupational health and safety matters. He appeared before Saskatchewan courts and tribunals, as well as the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada, and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Associate Chief Justice Tochor also has significant criminal trial and appellate experience that includes both jury and non-jury trials. He has published and presented extensively on criminal law issues for periodicals and various legal education seminars. He was a faculty member of the National Criminal Law Program and has presented annually at the Law Society’s Bar Admission and the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education courses. He was awarded the King’s Counsel designation in 2004 and was named in Best Lawyers in Canada and as a "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation Canada.
Associate Chief Justice Tochor’s history of community involvement includes being a founding member of The Book Project, which has delivered over 55,000 books to several correctional institutions in Saskatchewan. He also represented Saskatchewan on the Board of Directors of the RCMP Foundation, an Ottawa-based charitable organization focused on helping at-risk Indigenous youth.
Associate Chief Justice Tochor obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 1984.