Mr. Jourard began practicing law in Ontario in 1993, the year he was called to the provincial bar. About a year later, he restricted his practice to criminal law with a focus on serious driving offences. He completed an LL.B. at the University of Western Ontario and before that at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was also called to the bar in Israel in 1987 though he is currently not an active member. Earlier, he received an M.A. in Islamic history from the University of Toronto.

Mr. Jourard has also worked as a journalist. He copy edited and wrote for the Jerusalem Post, an English-language daily newspaper in Israel. He left the paper in 1989 and returned to Canada. He worked briefly as a copy editor at the Globe and Mail and the Canadian Press. He has coached baseball and basketball.

Mr. Jourard speaks English and Hebrew.