Rocco Galati (born 1959) is an Italian-born
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
lawyer who specializes in cases involving
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...
.
Early life and education
Galati was born in Calabria, Italy and his family immigrated to Canada in 1965. He graduated from
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts and then graduated from
Osgoode Hall
Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...
Law School in 1987.
Career
After his
Call to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
he worked at the federal Department of Justice.
Criminal cases
In 2001, Galati defended
Delmart Vreeland
Delmart "Mike" Vreeland (born March 20, 1966 in Mason, Michigan) became notable for claiming to predict the events of September 11, 2001.
Biography
Vreeland, wanted by police in eight Michigan jurisdictions for the crimes of fraud and burglary ...
at trial.
Galati was
Abdurahman Khadr's first lawyer.
In late 2003, Galati resigned from all national security cases after being the target of death threats.
Galati said a threat left on his answering machine stated: "Well, Mr. Galati. What's this I hear about you working with the terrorist now, helping to get that (expletive) punk terrorist Khadr off. You a dead wop." Galati requested 24-hour surveillance of his house; when the RCMP refused to provide this, he declared that "we now live in Colombia because the rule of law is meaningless" and later indicated he believed the call came from American intelligence. Mr Galati went on to claim: '"The voice is similar and likely the same as a voice of someone who threatened one of our former clients," he said, adding later that "in that case, our client disappeared."' Galati later characterized the threats as "institutional" and "governmental" but did not elaborate.
In 2006, Galati represented
Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, a suspect in the
2006 Ontario terrorism plot.
In 2008, charges were stayed against Ghany and three other defendants.
Nadon challenge
On October 7, 2013, Galati brought a court application that challenged the appointment of Justice
Marc Nadon
Marc Nadon LL.L. (born September 7, 1949) is a supernumerary judge on the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal. He has practised law in both Quebec and the United Kingdom, focusing on maritime and transportation law. He was also an arbitrator and fo ...
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 ...
on the basis of Nadon being ineligible as under the Quebec provisions of the
Supreme Court Act
The ''Supreme Court Act'' (the ''Act'') is an Act passed by the Parliament of Canada which established the Supreme Court of Canada. It was originally passed in 1875 as the ''Supreme and Exchequer Courts Act''. However, at the time, the Supreme Co ...
.
The Act requires that three members of the Supreme Court be from Quebec. The
Quebec government
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
announced that it would also challenge Nadon's appointment.
The government responded to Galati's application on October 22, 2013 by amending the Supreme Court Act and bringing a
reference question
In Canadian law, a reference question or reference case (formally called abstract review) is a submission by the federal or a provincial government to the courts asking for an advisory opinion on a major legal issue. Typically the question concer ...
to the Supreme Court.
Galati was granted
intervenor status at the hearing.
On March 21, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in
Reference Re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6
''Reference Re'' Supreme Court Act'', ss. 5 and 6'', 2014 SCC 21 is a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the eligibility of members of the Quebec courts and the Quebec Bar to be appointed to the three seats on the Supreme Court ...
that Nadon was ineligible under the Quebec provisions of the Act, and that changes to the Act required unanimous constitutional amendment.
Nadon's appointment was voided.
The court did not accept Galati's argument that federal court judges from Quebec are not eligible for appointment to the permanent Quebec seats on the Supreme Court of Canada.
Galati agreed to end his own legal challenge following the ruling.
The
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada, which succeeded the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1971, was a national court of Canada that had limited jurisdiction to hear certain types of disputes arising under the federal government's legislative jurisdiction. ...
later awarded Galati $5,000 for his fees in bringing his application.
Galati appealed, arguing he should be awarded $51,706.54 for his time spent arguing the case.
The
Federal Court of Appeal
The Federal Court of Appeal (french: Cour d'appel fédérale) is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters.
History
Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "addit ...
disagreed, and issued a sharply worded decision that compared his arguments to the "
gonzo
Gonzo may refer to:
People
* Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname
* Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo
* Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose stage ...
logic of the Vietnam War era."
The court ruled that Galati and his legal partner Paul Slansky were not legally successful in their application, even if they may have initiated a series of events leading to the reference question.
Galati and Slansky were ordered to pay $1,000 in legal costs to the government.
Mainville challenge
After the Supreme Court ruled against the Nadon appointment, in June 2014 Galati brought an application challenging the appointment of Justice
Robert Mainville 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 ...
. In April 2015, the court ruled unanimously that the justice department acted within its constitutional powers in the Mainville appointment.
Bank of Canada case
In 2011, Galati brought a case against the Canadian government to restore the
Bank of Canada
The Bank of Canada (BoC; french: Banque du Canada) is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: Ca ...
as a lender to the government.
The case was brought on behalf of the
Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform The Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (COMER) is an economics-oriented publishing and education centre based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Organization
COMER was co-founded by William Krehm and John Hotson in the 1980s as a think tank out ...
.
COMER argued that the Bank of Canada is mandated to provide debt-free financing for public projects undertaken by federal, provincial and municipal governments.
COMER's claims were struck five times by the courts. On May 4, 2017 the Supreme Court dismissed COMER'S application for leave to appeal the most recent decision.
On February 8, 2016 Justice Russell struck COMER's amended claim in its entirety and refused leave to amend the claim. Costs were awarded to the crown. In his ruling, Justice Russell stated " their response convinces me that, for reasons given, they have no scintilla of a cause of action that this Court can or should hear."
On March 3, 2016 COMER filed a notice of appeal with the Court of Appeal.
On December 7, 2016 the appeal was dismissed.
On May 4, 2017 the Supreme Court dismissed COMER's application for leave to appeal this decision.
COVID-19
Galati has been a vocal opponent of COVID-19 vaccines and government measures.
[MANDEL: Anti-vaxx doctors fight investigation into their issuing vaccine exemptions](_blank)
Toronto Sun He currently represents Dr. Rochagné Kilian of
Owen Sound
Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay.
The primary tourist attract ...
who is part of a group of Ontario doctors accused of freely dispensing vaccine exemptions.
In January 2022, Galati was seriously ill in the
ICU.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galati, Rocco
Lawyers in Ontario
2006 Ontario terrorism plot
Living people
Canadian people of Italian-Jewish descent
Italian emigrants to Canada
People from Calabria
Osgoode Hall Law School alumni
McGill University alumni
1959 births