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INDEPTH: SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court of Canada: Justices
CBC News Online | Updated September 01, 2004

CURRENT JUSTICES:

Rosalie Abella
Born: July 1, 1946, in a Displaced Persons Camp in Germany. She arrived in Canada as a refugee in 1950.
Education: LLB from the University of Toronto. Graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Abella practised civil and criminal law until she was appointed a judge of the Ontario family court in 1976. She was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1992. Abella has chaired the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment (1984), the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Ontario Law Reform Commission, and the Study on Access to Legal Services by the Disabled. She has written more than 70 articles and written or co-edited four books on a variety of legal topics, and lectures extensively. She has 20 honorary degrees, and was awarded the 2003 International Justice Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation and the 2004 Walter S. Tarnopolsky Award for Human Rights by the Canadian Bar Association and the International Commission of Jurists.

Louise Charron
Born: March 2, 1951, Sturgeon Falls, Ont.
Education: LLB from the University of Ottawa.
Charron started her career in 1977 working with the firm Lalonde, Chartrand & Gouin in civil litigation and was also a part-time assistant Crown attorney. In 1980, she became a full-time assistant Crown attorney in the District of Ottawa-Carleton. From 1985 to 1988, she also taught law at the University of Ottawa. She was appointed a judge of the District Court of Ontario in 1988 and was promoted to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1995. From 1994-96, she was associate director of the National Judicial Institute. Charron also served on the Ontario Police Commission in 1998. From September 2003 to April 2004, she was associate director of the National Judicial Institute during judicial study leave.

Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice
Born: September 7, 1943, in Pincher Creek, Alberta.
Education: MA and LLB University of Alberta.
McLachlin practised law in Edmonton from 1969 to 1971 and then in Vancouver until 1975. She was an associate professor and professor with tenure at the University of British Columbia up to 1981. McLachlin was appointed to the Supreme Court of B.C. in 1981 and to the Court of Appeal in that province in 1985. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1989 and became the chief justice in 2000. McLachlin is the chair of the Canadian Judicial Council and the Advisory Council of the Order of Canada. She is a member of the Privy Council of Canada.

Michel Bastarache
Born: June 10, 1947, in Quebec City.
Education: BA from the University of Moncton, LLL Université de Montréal, LLB University of Ottawa, and graduate degree from University of Nice.
Bastarache was a professor and dean at the University of Moncton Law School from 1978 to 1983 and worked as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, 1984 to 1987. He practised law in Ottawa and in Moncton and also served as CEO of Assumption Life. Bastarache authored two books — Language Rights in Canada and Précis du droit des biens réels. He has been the editor-in-chief of the Canadian Bar Review since 1998. Bastarache was appointed to the N.B. Court of Appeal in 1995 and to the Supreme Court in 1997.

Ian Binnie
Born: April 14, 1939, in Montreal.
Education: BA McGill, LLB Cambridge University, LLB University of Toronto. Practised litigation until 1982. Part-time lecturer at Osgoode Hall Law School, 1975 to 1979. Associate deputy minister of justice for Canada, 1982 to 1986. Law partner in Montreal, 1986 to 1998. Admitted into practice before the International Court of Justice in 1984. Binnie was counsel to the joint Senate and House of Commons Committee on the Meech Lake Accord in 1990. He has appeared as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada in constitutional, civil and criminal cases. Binnie is the director of the International Commission of Jurists. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1998.

Marie Deschamps
Born: October 2, 1952, in Repentigny, Quebec.
Education: LLL from the Université de Montréal and LLM from McGill University.
Deschamps practised law in Montréal from 1975 to 1990. She was on the committee on reform of the Bankruptcy Act in 1986 and was a member of the Competition Tribunal advisory council from 1986 to 1990. She was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 1990 and the Court of Appeal in 1992. She joined the Supreme Court of Canada in 2002.

Morris Fish
Born: November 16, 1938, in Montreal.
Education: BA and BCL from McGill University. Post-graduate studies in constitutional law at L'Université de Paris and received a Doctorate of Laws from McGill in 2001.
Fish taught law at the University of Ottawa, McGill and the Université de Montreal. He worked for two Montreal law firms from 1967 to 1989 before being appointed to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 1989. He has been special counsel to Revenue Canada and the Security Intelligence Review Committee. He has been the chair of the Faculty of Law Advisory Board, McGill University, since 1996. Fish was a reporter at the The Montreal Starfrom 1959 to 1963, and an editorial writer, 1962-1970. Fish was appointed to the Supreme Court in August 2003.

Louis LeBel
Born: November 30, 1939, in Quebec City.
Education: BA from the Collège des Jésuites in Quebec City, LLL and LLD from Laval University and LLM from the University of Toronto.
LeBel practised law in Quebec City from 1963 to 1984. Served on the board of directors of the Corporation du Centre communautaire juridique de Québec from 1973 to 1975. Vice-president of the bar of Quebec in 1982 and 1983. Lectured at the University of Ottawa and Laval. Appointed to Quebec Court of Appeal 1984 and then to the Supreme Court in 2000.


PAST CHIEF JUSTICES
  • The Hon. Sir William Johnstone Ritchie, Kt.
    Jan. 11, 1879 - Sept. 25, 1892
  • The Rt. Hon. Sir Samuel Henry Strong, P.C., Kt.
    Dec. 13, 1892 - Nov. 18, 1902
  • The Rt. Hon. Sir Henri-Elzéar Taschereau, P.C., Kt.
    Nov. 21, 1902 - May 2, 1906
  • The Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, P.C., G.C.M.G.
    June 4, 1906 - Oct. 21, 1918
  • The Rt. Hon. Sir Louis Henry Davies, P.C., K.C.M.G.
    Oct. 23, 1918 - May 1, 1924
  • The Rt. Hon. Francis Alexander Anglin, P.C.
    Sept. 16, 1924 - Feb. 28, 1933
  • The Rt. Hon. Sir Lyman Poore Duff, P.C., G.C.M.G.
    Mar. 17, 1933 - Jan. 7, 1944
  • The Rt. Hon. Thibaudeau Rinfret, P.C.
    Jan. 8, 1944 - June 22, 1954
  • The Hon. Patrick Kerwin, P.C.
    July 1, 1954 - Feb. 2, 1963
  • The Rt. Hon. Robert Taschereau, P.C.
    Apr. 22, 1963 - Sept. 1, 1967
  • The Rt. Hon. John Robert Cartwright, P.C., C.C., M.C.
    Sept. 1, 1967 - Mar. 23, 1970
  • The Rt. Hon. Joseph Honoré Gérald Fauteux, P.C., C.C.
    Mar. 23, 1970 - Dec. 23, 1973
  • The Rt. Hon. Bora Laskin, P.C.
    Dec. 27, 1973 - Mar. 26, 1984
  • The Rt. Hon. Robert George Brian Dickson, P.C., C.C.
    Apr. 18, 1984 - June 30, 1990
  • The Rt. Hon. Antonio Lamer, P.C.
    July 1, 1990 - Jan. 6, 2000
  • The Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, P.C.
    January 7, 2000


CURRENT AND FORMER PUISNE JUSTICES
  • Hon. William Johnstone Ritchie
    Sept. 30, 1875 - Jan. 11, 1879.
  • Hon. Samuel Henry Strong
    Sept. 30, 1875 - Dec. 13, 1892.
  • Hon. Jean-Thomas Taschereau
    Sept. 9, 1875 - Oct. 6, 1878.
  • Hon. Telesphore Fournier
    Sept 9, 1875 - Sept. 12, 1895.
  • Hon. William Alexander Henry
    Sept. 30, 1875 - May 3, 1888.
  • Hon. Sir Henri-Elzear Taschereau
    Oct. 7, 1878 - Nov. 21, 1902.
  • Hon. John Wellington Gwynne
    Jan. 14, 1879 - Jan. 7, 1902.
  • Hon. Christopher Salmon Patterson
    Oct. 27, 1888 - Jul. 24, 1893.
  • Hon. Robert Sedgewick
    Feb. 18, 1893 - Aug. 4, 1906.
  • Hon. George Edwin King
    Sept. 21, 1893 - May 8, 1901.
  • Hon. Desire Girouard
    Sept. 28, 1895 - Mar. 22, 1911.
  • Hon. Sir Louis Henry Davies
    Sept. 25, 1901 - Oct. 23, 1918.
  • Hon. David Mills
    Feb. 8, 1902 - May 8, 1903.
  • Hon. John Douglas Armour
    Nov. 21, 1902 - Jul. 11, 1903.
  • Hon. Wallace Nesbitt
    May 16 - 1903 - Oct. 4, 1905.
  • Hon. Albert Clements Killam
    Aug. 8, 1903 - Feb. 6, 1905.
  • Hon. John Idington
    Feb. 10, 1905 - Mar. 31, 1927.
  • Hon. James Maclennan
    Oct. 5, 1905 - Feb. 13, 1909.
  • Hon. Lyman Poore Duff
    Sept. 27, 1906 - Mar. 17, 1933.
  • Hon. Francis Alexander Anglin
    Feb. 23, 1909 - Sept. 16, 1924.
  • Hon. Louis-Philippe Brodeur
    Aug. 11, 1911 - Oct. 10, 1923.
  • Hon. Pierre-Basile Mignault
    Oct. 25, 1918 - Sept. 30, 1929.
  • Hon. Arthur Cyrille Albert Malouin
    Jan 30, 1924 - Oct. 1, 1924.
  • Hon. Edmund Leslie Newcombe
    Sept. 16, 1924 - Dec. 9, 1931.
  • Hon. Thibaudeau Rinfret
    Oct. 1, 1924 - Jan. 8, 1944.
  • Hon. John Henderson Lamont
    Apr. 2, 1927 - Mar. 10, 1936.
  • Hon. Robert Smith
    May 18, 1927 - Dec. 7, 1933.
  • Hon. Lawrence Arthur Dumoulin Cannon
    Jan. 14, 1930 - Dec. 25, 1939.
  • Hon. Oswald Smith Crocket
    Sept. 21, 1932 - Apr. 13, 1943.
  • Hon. Frank Joseph Hughes
    Mar. 17, 1933 - Feb. 13, 1935.
  • Hon. Henry Hague Davis
    Jan. 31, 1935 - Jun. 30, 1944.
  • Hon. Patrick Kerwin
    Jul. 20, 1935 - Jul. 1, 1954.
  • Hon. Albert Blellock Hudson
    Mar. 24, 1936 - Jan. 6, 1947.
  • Hon. Robert Taschereau
    Feb. 9, 1940 - Apr. 22, 1963.
  • Hon. Ivan Cleveland Rand
    Apr. 22, 1943 - Apr. 27, 1959.
  • Hon. Roy Lindsay Kellock
    Oct. 3, 1944 - Jan. 15, 1958.
  • Hon. James Wilfred Estey
    Oct. 6, 1944 - Jan. 22, 1956.
  • Hon. Charles Holland Locke
    Jun. 3, 1947 - Sept. 16, 1962.
  • Hon. John Robert Cartwright
    Dec. 22, 1949 - Sept. 1, 1967.
  • Hon. Joseph Honore Gerard Fauteux
    Dec. 22, 1949 - Mar. 23, 1970.
  • Hon. Douglas Charles Abbott
    Jul. 1, 1954 - Dec. 23, 1973.
  • Hon. Henry Grattan Nolan
    Mar. 1, 1956 - Jul. 8, 1957.
  • Hon. Ronald Martland
    Jan. 15, 1958 - Feb. 10, 1982.
  • Hon. Wilfred Judson
    Feb. 5, 1958 - Jul. 20, 1977.
  • Hon. Ronald Almon Ritchie
    May 5, 1959 - Oct. 31, 1984.
  • Hon. Emmett Matthew Hall
    Nov. 23, 1962 - Mar. 1, 1973.
  • Hon. Wishart Flett Spence
    May 30, 1963 - Dec. 29, 1978.
  • Hon. Louis-Philippe Pigeon
    Sept. 21, 1967 - Feb. 8, 1980.
  • Hon. Bora Laskin
    Mar. 19, 1970 - Dec. 27, 1973.
  • Hon. Robert George Brian Dickson
    Mar. 26, 1973 - Apr. 18, 1984.
  • Hon. Jean Beetz
    Jan. 1, 1974 - Nov. 10, 1988.
  • Hon. Louis-Philippe de Grandpre
    Jan. 1, 1974 - Oct. 1, 1977.
  • Hon. Willard Zebedee Estey
    Sept. 29, 1977 - Apr. 22, 1988.
  • Hon. Yves Pratte
    Oct. 1, 1977 - Jun. 30, 1979.
  • Hon. William Rogers McIntyre
    Jan. 1, 1979 - Feb. 15, 1989.
  • Hon. Julien Chouinard
    Sept. 24, 1979 - Feb. 6, 1987.
  • Hon. Antonio Lamer
    Mar. 28, 1980 - Jul. 1, 1990.
  • Hon. Bertha Wilson
    Mar. 4, 1982 - Jan. 4, 1991.
  • Hon. Gerald Eric Le Dain
    May 29, 1984 - Nov. 30, 1988.
  • Hon. Gerald V. La Forest
    Jan. 16 - 1985 - Sept. 30, 1997.
  • Hon. Claire L'Heureux-Dube
    Apr. 15, 1987 -
  • Hon. John Sopinka
    May 24, 1988 - Nov. 24, 1997.
  • Hon. Charles Doherty Gonthier
    Feb. 1, 1989 -
  • Hon. Peter deCarteret Cory
    Feb. 1, 1989 - Jun 1, 1999.
  • Hon. Beverley McLachlin
    Mar. 30, 1989 - Jan. 7, 2000.
  • Hon. William Stevenson
    Sept. 17, 1990 - Jun. 5, 1992.
  • Hon. Frank Iacobucci
    Jan. 7, 1991 - Jun. 30, 2004.
  • Hon. John C. Major
    Nov. 13, 1992 - Dec. 25, 2005.
  • Hon. Michel Bastarache
    Sept. 30, 1997 -
  • Hon. William Ian Corneil Binnie
    Jan. 8, 1998 -
  • Hon. Louise Arbour
    Sept. 15, 1999 - Jun. 7, 2004.
  • Hon. Louis LeBel
    Jan. 7, 2000.
  • Hon. Marie Deschamps
    Aug. 7, 2002 -
  • Hon. Morris J. Fish
    Aug. 5, 2003 -
  • Hon. Rosalie Silberman Abella
    Aug. 30, 2004 -
  • Hon. Louise Charron
    Aug. 30, 2004 -






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