William Tetley (February 10, 1927 – July 1, 2014) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and professor of law at

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 Montreal, the visiting professor of Maritime and Commercial Law at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
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, and a former member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

and

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. William Tetley attended the Royal Canadian Naval College and served with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

. He graduated from McGill University with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

then obtained a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

. He was admitted to the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...

in 1952, a year he also began contributing to the ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominan ...

'' and the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' newspapers as a

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. He is also the author of books and has written a number of articles on public affairs and legal matters for Canadian,

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and

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s. Active in the

Boy Scouts of Canada Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, aged 5 to 26, with the stated aim "to help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the French ...

for many years, in 1969 William Tetley was awarded the Boy Scouts of Canada Medal. As well, he served the Montreal community as a board member and Chairman of the city's International Branch of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. For 18 years, William Tetley practised law becoming a partner in the prominent Montreal firm, Martineau, Walker, Allison, Beaulieu, Tetley and Phelan. He entered municipal politics and in 1965 was elected as a councillor in

Mount Royal, Quebec Mount Royal (french: Mont-Royal, officially Town of Mount Royal, french: Ville de Mont-Royal, abbreviated TMR, french: VMR) is an affluent on-island suburban town located on the northwest side of the eponymous Mount Royal, northwest of Downtown M ...

. He gave up his seat on council after being elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

in a 1968 by-election as the Liberal Party's representative for

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ( en, Our Lady of Grace), also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, ...

. Following his party's victory in the 1970 provincial election, he was appointed Minister of Revenue. He served in that position between May and October when he was made

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. Re-elected in 1973, he remained in that a position until 1975. During his tenure, Tetley was responsible for the province of Quebec's first

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

act. In July 1975 he was appointed Minister of Public Works & Supply, holding that position until November 1976 when he retired from politics to become a Professor at McGill University's Faculty of Law. In 1995, William Tetley was made a Member 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 ...

. In December 2006, his book ''The October Crisis, 1970: An Insider's View'' was published by McGill-Queen's University Press. An

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

, William Tetley was a member of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the

McCord Museum of Canadian History McCord may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places Canada * McCord, Saskatchewan *McCord Museum, Quebec *Mount McCord United States * McCord, Oklahoma * McCord, Wisconsin *McCord Bend, Missouri *McCord Crossroads, Alabama McCords Crossroads (formerly, Hopewe ...

. Rosslyn Tetley, William Tetley's lifelong companion, died on January 14, 2016, at the age of 81.

Books

* ''International Maritime and Admiralty Law'' (2003) * ''Maritime Liens and Claims'' (1985, 1998) * ''International Conflict of Laws, Common, Civil and Maritime'' (1994) * ''The October Crisis, 1970: An Insider's View'' (2006, ) * ''Marine Cargo Claims'' (1965, 1978, 1988, 2008, )

References

Links

*
McGill University Curriculum Vitae for William Tetley
(English and French languages)
"Tetley's Maritime & Admiralty Law", McGill University website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tetley, William 1927 births 2014 deaths Canadian art collectors Lawyers from Montreal Quebec Liberal Party MNAs McGill University alumni McGill University Faculty of Law faculty Université Laval alumni Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Members of the Order of Canada Politicians from Montreal Writers from Montreal Academics from Montreal People associated with Scouting Scouting and Guiding in Canada Tulane University faculty Anglophone Quebec people People from Mount Royal, Quebec