Robert Wells (August 28, 1933 – October 28, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He represented

St. John's South ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

from 1972 to 1975 and Kilbride from 1975 to 1979 in the

Newfoundland House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Building in St. Jo ...

. He sat on the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1986 to 2008.

Early life

Wells was born in Badger's Quay, the son of Reverend Warwick Wells and Dorcas Parsons. He was educated at Memorial University in St. John's and then selected as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1953. He attended Oxford University and was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1958.

Legal career

On his return to Newfoundland, Wells was employed in the civil service as an economist, later working in the Justice department as a

Crown attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel (or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors) are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and ...

and departmental advisor from 1959 to 1962. He started practising law in St. John's that same year, concentrating on

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

and civil law. Wells was named Queen's Counsel in 1972. He had a general litigation practice, including using

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

methods such as

mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...

and

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

.Centre for Innovative Dispute Resolution: Honourable Robert Wells, Q.C.
/ref> Wells continued his private practice until he was appointed to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland in 1986. He served as a judge for 22 years before retiring in 2008. He subsequently returned to private practice, working in alternative dispute resolution.

Leadership in the legal profession

Wells was president of the Law Society of Newfoundland from 1977 to 1981. Four years later, he became the first (and so far the only) Newfoundlander to be elected national president of the Canadian Bar Association. During his tenure as president, he advocated for legal reforms, such as more expansive freedom of information to information held by the government and greater discretion for judges in

sentencing In law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for mult ...

. He opposed bills concerning imprisonment and conditional release, on the basis that these would not ameliorate the legal system. Wells was also active in legal organizations that work to improve human rights internationally and in developing countries.

Provincial politics

Wells became president of the Progressive Conservative Association of Newfoundland in 1964. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Newfoundland assembly in 1971 but was elected the following year. From 1975 to 1976, he served in the Newfoundland cabinet of Frank Moores, first as Minister of Health, then as

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

, and later served as government house leader. He returned to the practice of law in 1979.

Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry

On March 12, 2009, Cougar Helicopters Flight 91, flying from St. John's to an off-shore oil platform in the Hibernia oilfield, ditched in the ocean. Of the eighteen crew and passengers aboard, only one survived. The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board, a joint federal-provincial regulator, established the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry Commission to investigate the accident and to make safety recommendations. Wells was named as the commissioner of the inquiry. After extensive hearings, he produced a two volume report and recommendations. One of his key recommendations was that an independent safety regulator be created for the offshore, and given a clear and unambiguous safety mandate. After the inquiry concluded, Wells continued to be an advocate for greater legal regulation for the safety of off-shore activities. He appeared before a parliamentary committee in Ottawa in 2013, testifying in support of a bill to strengthen off-shore safety.

Community service

Wells served as chair of the board for the Janeway Child Health Centre. From 1979 to 1984, he acted as the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

(legal advisor) of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.

Death

Wells died on October 28, 2020, at the age of 87.

Honours

* 1970 Honorary Membership in the Canadian Police Association * 1972 Queen's Counsel * 2002 Doctor of Laws "honoris causa", Benchers of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador * 2015 Doctor of Laws ''honoris causa'', Memorial UniversityMemorial University: "Fall honorary degree recipients announced," September 10, 2015.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Robert 1933 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Canadian judges 20th-century Canadian lawyers 21st-century Canadian judges 21st-century Canadian lawyers Canadian Anglicans Canadian Bar Association Presidents Canadian King's Counsel Judges in Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian Rhodes Scholars People from Newfoundland (island) Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs