Yves Pratte (7 March 1925 – 26 June 1988) was a Canadian lawyer and jurist who served briefly as a

Puisne Justice 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.

Early life

Born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

, Quebec, he was the son of Garon Pratte and G. Rivard. He was the father of Guy Pratte, a prominent lawyer who practises in both Ontario and Quebec, and André Pratte, editorial pages editor with Montreal's daily newspaper La Presse, and a fervent federalist voice in

Quebec 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 thirtee ...

Career

Pratte studied law at

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 Montm ...

and the

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

. Following his admission to the bar in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Quebec in 1947, he practised law in Quebec City, established a successful law firm, and continued his association with Laval, becoming its Dean of Law from 1962–1965. Between 1965 and 1968, he served as special legal counsel to Quebec premiers Lesage and Johnson. From 1968–1974, he served as the chairman of

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...

, which was then under the control of the Canadian National Railway, a Crown corporation. On 1 October 1977, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on the recommendation of Pierre Trudeau. His tenure on the court was brief – Pratte served less than two years before stepping down for health reasons. Upon his resignation on 30 June 1979, he returned to private practice, joining the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

firm of Courtois Clarkson.

Death

Pratte died suddenly, of a heart attack, on 26 June 1988, in Montreal. His body was interred in the

Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont The Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont (English: Belmont Cemetery) is a historic garden cemetery located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Roman Catholic cemetery was built between 1857 and 1859. Its architect, Charles Baillargé, took inspirati ...

, in Sainte-Foy, Quebec.

Recognition

Today, the Yves Pratte Foundation named in his honour promotes student exchanges between the University of Toronto and Université Laval.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratte, Yves 1925 births 1988 deaths Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Lawyers in Quebec People from Quebec City Université Laval alumni University of Toronto alumni Université Laval Faculté de droit alumni University of Toronto Faculty of Law alumni