Former navy captain new Chief Crown Prosecutor
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By Barbara J Brown
With two prominent and distinct careers — one with Alberta Justice and one with the Canadian Naval Reserves — Gordon Wong is Calgary’s newly appointed Chief Crown Prosecutor.
“I’m
really excited about being involved in decision-making and participating
in where this division of Alberta Justice should go, in terms of priorities
and
the direction we should take,” said Wong, an 18-year veteran of Alberta’s
prosecutorial team.
Wong began his navy career in 1977 as a naval reserve officer cadet and worked his way up through the ranks. In 1996, he became the first commanding officer of a brand-new ship called HMCS Edmonton.
“The chance to be a captain of a new ship was spectacular,” said Wong. “The last ship I commanded was something that was built in 1950. You can imagine the difference,” he said.
In 1983, while he was still active in the navy, he began his career with Alberta Justice, and by 1984, he was a Crown prosecutor in the Calgary office, where he has been ever since.
Although both careers are as different as night and day, Wong said they’re similar in some ways.
“A lot of the skills that I learned in the military, I apply here,” he said. “One of the key things about being a prosecutor is that you have to walk in with the attitude that you’re in charge of that court. You’ve got to be prepared to make decisions in a very methodical manner so that you’re always focused on a reasoned approach to making a decision on a case, all the time. That’s what I was taught in the military in terms of leadership and certainly in the terms of command.”
Being a Chief Crown Prosecutor is a full-time job, Wong said, which means he won’t be prosecuting cases in the courtroom anymore.
“I will miss it, there’s no question about that,” said Wong. But in spite of that, he anticipates being in the chief’s chair for a while.
“One thing I owe to this job is to be here for a number of years, and I plan on doing that for sure,” he said. Wong has focused directly on his Alberta Justice career since August 2000, when his status with the navy became inactive.
