Peter deCarteret Cory, (October 25, 1925 – April 7, 2020) was a

puisne judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

of 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 ...

, from 1989 to 1999.

Early life and education

Born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, the son of Andrew and Mildred (Beresford Howe) Cory, he was educated at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

(Assumption) receiving his BA in 1947 and at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

receiving his law degree in 1950. He was called to the

Ontario Bar The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; f ...

in 1950.

Career

As a pilot in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

, he served overseas with 6th Bomber Group during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, flying many combat missions. He was appointed to the

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1963. He practised law with Holden, Murdoch and was elected a Bencher of the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; frenc ...

in 1971. Cory was appointed to the

Supreme Court of Ontario The Supreme Court of Ontario was a superior court of the Canadian province of Ontario. Created in 1881 pursuant to the Ontario Judicature Act (1881), the Supreme Court of Ontario had two branches: the High Court of Justice Division and the Appell ...

in 1974, the

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...

in 1981 and the Supreme Court of Canada on February 1, 1989. He retired from the Supreme Court on June 1, 1999.

Post-Court

He served as the 11th Chancellor of

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

from 2004 to 2008. He was an Honorary Colonel of the 426 Transport Training Squadron. In 2002, Cory was made 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 ...

. Following his retirement, Cory was appointed to conduct an independent inquiry into six particular deaths during "

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

" in Northern Ireland. The

Cory Collusion Inquiry The Cory Collusion Inquiry was established to conduct an independent inquiry into deaths relating to the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland. A retired Supreme Court of Canada judge, Peter Cory was appointed to undertake a thorough investigation of all ...

was established to investigate allegations of collusion between security forces and paramilitaries in those cases.

Personal life

Cory was married to Edith Nash and had three children. He was a Mississaugan as of 2002. Cory was chairman of the Ontario Civil Liberties Section of 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 ...

("CBA"), president of the County of York Law Association, national director of the CBA and president of the Advocates' Society. He died in Mississauga on April 7, 2020.

References

External links

* * * Elizabeth Raymer,
Former Supreme Court justice Peter Cory dead at 94
, ''Canadian Lawyer'', 13 April 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cory, Peter 1925 births Chancellors of York University Communications Security Establishment people Companions of the Order of Canada Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Justices of the Court of Appeal for Ontario Lawyers in Ontario 2020 deaths Osgoode Hall Law School alumni People from Windsor, Ontario University of Western Ontario alumni Canadian King's Counsel