William Lahey (born May 30, 1961 in

Miramichi The name "Miramichi" was first applied to a region in the northeast of New Brunswick, Canada, and has since been applied to other places in Canada and the United States. Although other interpretations have been suggested, it is believed that "Mirami ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

) is a Canadian lawyer, public servant, and the 25th president and vice-chancellor of the

University of King's College The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. Lahey received his undergraduate arts degree from

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...

, followed by degrees in jurisprudence from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(where he was a Rhodes Scholar) and a Master of Laws from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Lahey began his career as clerk for Mr. Justice La Forest of the Supreme Court of Canada and later practiced with the Halifax firm of McInnes, Cooper & Robertson. After eight years in the Nova Scotia public service, including as Assistant Deputy Minister of Health, he joined the faculty of

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

’s Schulich School of Law in 2001, where he remains a professor and where he served as the director of the Dalhousie Health Law Institute between 2007 and 2011. From 2004 to 2007 he was deputy minister of Nova Scotia’s Department of Environment and Labour, on leave from Dalhousie Law School. As Deputy Minister, Department of Environment and Labour from 2004 to 2007, Lahey spearheaded the development of the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act, a far-reaching piece of legislation designed to "improve environmental law and policy and to make Nova Scotia a leader in integrating economic growth and environmental protection objectives." Lahey became the 25th President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of King's College on 1 July 2016. Lahey was reappointed to serve another five-year term on January 14, 2021. In August 2018, Lahey published ''An Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia'' which proposes a shift toward a so-called "new paradigm of 'ecological forestry'". The sustainable forestry practices proposed in the "Lahey Report", including but not limited to reduced clearcutting on

Crown lands Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

, are currently under consideration by the Nova Scotia Ministry of Land and Forests. During the 2021 Liberal leadership race

Iain Rankin Iain Thomas Rankin (born April 9, 1983) is a Canadian politician who served as the 29th premier of Nova Scotia from February 23, 2021, to August 31, 2021. He serves in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, repr ...

pledged to implement the Lahey Report in its entirety by the end of 2021, this was cut short however by a Progressive Conservative upset victory in the

2021 Nova Scotia general election The 2021 Nova Scotia general election was held on August 17, 2021, to elect members to the 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia. In April 2019, the Electoral Boundaries Commission released its final report entitled, ''Balancing Effective Represe ...

External links

An Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia: Executive Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahey, William 1961 births Lawyers in Nova Scotia Living people People from Miramichi, New Brunswick Canadian university and college chief executives Dalhousie University alumni Academic staff of the Dalhousie University Academic staff of University of King's College