Lawrence I. O'Neil (born 14 November 1954) is a Justice of the
Nova Scotia Supreme Court
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia.
The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more addit ...
, Family Division. He was a lawyer by profession. Between 1984 and 1988, he was a
Progressive Conservative party member of the
House of Commons of Canada.
Early life and education
O'Neil graduated from
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
History
St. Franc ...
in 1976 where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was admitted to the
Nova Scotia Bar in 1979 after earning a Bachelor of Laws degree from
Dalhousie University.
He then practiced with Pickup & MacDowell and as a sole practitioner. He then became a staff lawyer with Nova Scotia Legal Aid in Antigonish until the time of his appointment.
Political career
He was elected at
Cape Breton Highlands—Canso
Cape Breton Highlands—Canso was a federal electoral district in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1997.
History
This riding was created in 1966 from Antigonish—Guysborou ...
electoral district in the
1984 federal election, thus he served in the
33rd Canadian Parliament. O'Neil was defeated in the
1988 federal election by
Francis LeBlanc of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
.
Judicial career
O'Neil was appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia on 19 September 2007 by Justice Minister Honourable
Robert Nicholson. The swearing in ceremony took place on 23 October 2007 in St. Ninian's Place on the Campus of St. Francis Xavier University in
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
, settlement_type = Town
, image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg
, image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral
, image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...
.
Controversy
The appointment was controversial due to past statements while an MP regarding
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
. In 1985, O'Neil moved to introduce a bill to amend the Criminal Code to require that every unborn child be represented by legal counsel at therapeutic abortion committees across the country. On 28 April 1987, he told the House of Commons that "unborn children across this country are being suctioned from the womb by women who want to put an end to their pregnancy. Those children are being dismembered." On 27 July 1988, he stated in the House of Commons that "
appears that there is widespread acceptance of the notion that a mother should have the right to control her body. There is no such right."
2017 Decision Overturned
O'Neil delayed an adoption hearing because of entirely hypothetical constitutional concerns about whether the child's biological father had been given proper notice. In a unanimous decision, the Nova Scotia Appeal Court noted that the adoptive parents of a young baby found themselves caught in a "judge-made vortex of uncertainty and delay" that stalled the adoption for almost a year at great expense and anxiety to the family.
The Nova Scotia Appeal Court found that O'Neil erred in legal principle when he initiated a self-directed constitutional reference, which the court termed both inappropriate and ill-conceived. The Appeal Court stated that O'Neil was "provided with the correct legal principles and authorities which ought to have informed his decision.... he ignored these and the practical consequences of his decision."
Nova Scotia (Community Services) v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General),2017 NSCA 73
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References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneil, Lawrence I.
1954 births
Living people
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs