Lance Sydney George Finch, (June 16, 1938August 30, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

. He was President of the Vancouver Bar Association and a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of the

Law Society of British Columbia The Law Society of British Columbia is the regulatory body for lawyers in British Columbia, Canada. Purpose The society's primary mandate under the ''Legal Profession Act'' is to uphold and protect the public interest in the administration of ...

. He was appointed as a judge in 1983 and went on to serve as the Chief Justice of the British Columbia Court of Appeal from 2001 until his retirement on June 16, 2013.

Early life

Finch was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, in 1938. His family moved in 1951 to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, where he attended high school. He enrolled in Victoria College in 1955, went on to earn his undergraduate and law degree at the

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 was called to the bar in 1963. He was a member of the University's rowing team. He

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

at Guild, Yule & Company in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, and became partner in 1968. He was president of the Vancouver Bar Association (1976) and served an appointment as a bencher of the

(from 1981 to 1983). He taught at the

University of British Columbia Faculty of Law , mottoeng = Let justice be done though the heavens fall , type = Public Law School , endowment = , head_label = Dean , head = Ngai Pindell , established = , city = Vancouver , state = Br ...

and the Continuing Legal Education Program.

Career as a judge

Finch was in private practice from 1963 to 1983. He was appointed to

Supreme Court of British Columbia Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

on May 5, 1983. A decade later, on May 28, 1993, he was raised to the

British Columbia Court of Appeal The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act. The BCCA hears appeals from the Supreme Court of Britis ...

and appointed Chief Justice on June 6, 2001. He publicly voiced concern over access to justice for the working poor and middle class who earn too much to qualify for legal aid but not enough to afford a lawyer. He also called for the legal system to engage the narratives and laws of

Indigenous Canadians In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and ''Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them ...

"with a sense of humility". He authored the lone

dissenting opinion A dissenting opinion (or dissent) is an opinion in a legal case in certain legal systems written by one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment. Dissenting opinions are no ...

when, in October 2013, the provincial Court of Appeal overturned the ''

Carter v Canada (AG) ''Carter v Canada (AG)'', 2015 SCC 5 is a landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision where the prohibition of assisted suicide was challenged as contrary to the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' ("''Charter''") by several parties, includi ...

'' judgment at first instance, which had found in favour of permitting

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

in Canada. Finch wrote how " e point at which the meaning of life is lost, when life's positive attributes are so diminished as to render life valueless, when suffering overwhelms all else, is an intensely personal decision which 'everyone' has the right to make for him or herself". The case proceeded 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 ...

, which agreed with Finch's position when it reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal in 2015. Finch returned to private practice in 2013, upon reaching statutory retirement age.

Awards

Finch was awarded an Honorary Law Degree, LLD, by the

. He was appointed to the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

on November 30, 2017.B.C.'s highest honour recognizes 16 outstanding citizens
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Personal life

Finch was married to Judy; together, they had three children. He died on August 30, 2020, surrounded by his family. He was 82, and suffered from cancer in the years leading up to his death.

References

External links

British Columbia Court of Appeal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Lance 1938 births Lawyers in British Columbia 2020 deaths Judges in British Columbia People from Edmonton Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni