Antonio Lamer
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Joseph Antonio Charles Lamer (July 8, 1933 – November 24, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer, jurist and the 16th
Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court sy ...
.


Career

Lamer practised in partnership at the firm of Cutler, Lamer, Bellemare and Associates and was a full professor in the Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, where he was also a lecturer in criminology. On December 19, 1969, at the age of 36, he was appointed to the
Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...
and to the Queen's Bench (Crown Side) of the province of Quebec. In 1978, he was elevated to the
Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The Court wa ...
and was appointed to the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
in 1980. Brian Mulroney named Lamer as Chief Justice on July 1, 1990. On January 7, 2000, Lamer took an unexpected early retirement after having served as chief justice for ten years. Several years after his death, former judges spoke about the situation surrounding his retirement. According to a 2011 article in ''The Globe and Mail'', in February 1999, a "delegation of three veteran judges" including former Supreme Court judge
John C. Major John Charles "Jack" Major (born February 20, 1931) is a Canadian jurist and was a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1992 to 2005. Early life and education Born in Mattawa, Ontario, Major received a Bachelor of Commerce degree f ...
, selected by their colleagues met with Lamer to tell him that "his performance was not what it had been up until this time." To which he immediately responded, "Well, then I'll resign." Lamer finally agreed to resign following a second meeting with Justices Major,
Peter Cory Peter deCarteret Cory, (October 25, 1925 – April 7, 2020) was a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, from 1989 to 1999. Early life and education Born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Andrew and Mildred (Beresford Howe) Cory, he was educ ...
and
Charles Gonthier Charles Doherty Gonthier, (August 1, 1928 – July 16, 2009) was a Puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Canada from February 1, 1989 to August 1, 2003. He was replaced by Morris Fish. Early life Gonthier was born in Montreal, Quebec to Ge ...
in the spring of 1999. He announced in an August 1999 talk to the
Canadian Bar Association The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in Canadian French, French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada. History The Association's first Annu ...
, that he would be resigning from the Supreme Court in January 2000. After he retired, Lamer joined a large law firm,
Stikeman Elliott Stikeman Elliott LLP is a Canadian business law firm founded in 1952 by H. Heward Stikeman and Fraser Elliott. The firm has offices located in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, New York, London and Sydney. Since 2021, the firm's cha ...
, in a senior advisory role and was appointed associate professor of law at the Université de Montréal in 2000. He was appointed
Communications Security Establishment The Communications Security Establishment (CSE; french: Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications, ''CST''), formerly (from 2008-2014) called the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), is the Government of Canada's national c ...
Commissioner on June 19, 2003, a position he held until August 1, 2006. He also served as honorary colonel of the Governor General's Foot Guards. In a CBC interview, Lamer described how the Supreme Court of Canada was transformed following the 1982
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
under then Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...
which expanded the role of the judiciary. Lamer described it as "somewhat of a shock to see their job description changed so fundamentally." Eugene Meehan, who was Lamer's first executive legal officer at the Supreme Court of Canada described Lamer as "a foundational builder", who was "one of the key architects of how courts interpret" the 1982 Charter" ..."building on the work of his predecessor as chief justice, Brian Dickson." In March 2003, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador asked Lamer to head a high-profile inquiry into several wrongful convictions in Newfoundland specifically to oversee an inquiry into how the criminal justice system dealt with three discredited murder convictions. The hearings lasted about three years. Lamer was tasked to conduct an investigation into the death of Catherine Carroll and the circumstances surrounding the resulting criminal proceedings against Gregory Parsons, and an investigation into the death of Brenda Young and the circumstances surrounding the resulting criminal proceedings against Randy Druken. Lamer was also asked to inquire as to why Ronald Dalton's appeal of his murder conviction took eight years before it was brought on for a hearing in the Court of Appeal."Government of Newfoundland Labrador News Release"
June 21, 2006. Accessed November 26, 2007.


Personal life

Born in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec, Lamer served in the
Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/The ...
from 1950 to 1954 and in the
Canadian Intelligence Corps The Canadian Intelligence Corps (C Int C) is a component within the Canadian Armed Forces' Intelligence Branch, consisting of all members of that branch who wear army uniform. Prior to the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, it was an Corps ...
from 1954 to 1960. In 1956, he graduated in law from the
Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
and was called to the
Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...
in 1957. In 1987, he married
Danièle Tremblay-Lamer Danièle Tremblay-Lamer (born November 2, 1946) is a former judge of the Federal Court of Canada. Tremblay-Lamer was born in Quebec to Laurette and Marcellin Tremblay. She graduated from College de Français in Montreal, Laval University and Uni ...
, who was later appointed a judge on the Federal Court. During his tenure he was well known among the bench to be a frequent consumer of alcohol, especially wine, and have various drug prescriptions to deal with his declining health. Various commentators and even other judges have vocally critiqued these habits of his as reason for him to resign from the court. He died in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
of a cardiac condition on November 24, 2007, and was entombed at the
Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (french: Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run a ...
in Montreal.


Recognition

He was a Companion of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...
. He received honorary degrees from the
Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian francophone university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on higher ed ...
,
University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...
, Université de Montréal,
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
,
University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...
,
Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
,
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
, and
Saint Paul University Saint Paul University (french: Université Saint-Paul) is a bilingual Catholic Pontifical university federated with the University of Ottawa since 1965. It is located on Main Street in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, Ontario. Fully bilingual, it ...
. From 1992 to 1998, Chief Justice Lamer was Honorary
Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
of the
62nd (Shawinigan) Field Artillery Regiment The 62nd Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (french: 62e Régiment d'artillerie de campagne, ARC) is a Reserve (military), militia unit of the Canadian Army that has its own military band and is located in Shawinigan, Quebec. It recruits primarily in ...
, RCA.


See also

*
List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (Lamer Court) This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of Canada from appointment of Antonio Lamer as Chief Justice of Canada to his retirement. 19901994 19951999 See also * List of notable Canadian Courts of Appeals cases ...
* Reasons of the Supreme Court of Canada by Chief Justice Lamer


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamer, Antonio 1933 births 2007 deaths Canadian legal scholars Chief justices of Canada Communications Security Establishment people Companions of the Order of Canada Lawyers from Montreal Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Université de Montréal alumni Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel Université de Montréal Faculty of Law alumni Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery