Jean Bazin
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Jean Bazin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2019) was a Canadian lawyer and former
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.


Early life and education

Born in
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
, Bazin earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a
Licentiate of Laws Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...
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 ...
in 1964.http://www.dentons.com/en/jean-bazin Dentons: "Jean Bazin, QC" He was elected president of the Canadian Union of Students for the 1964-65 school year. While at Laval, Bazin became a close friend of another law student,
Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
, and was part of Mulroney's close circle of friends, including Bernard Roy,
Lucien Bouchard Lucien Bouchard (; born December 22, 1938) is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician. Minister for two years in the Mulroney cabinet, Bouchard then led the emerging Bloc Québécois and became Leader of the Opposition in the House ...
, Michel Cogger,
Michael Meighen Michael Arthur Meighen, (born March 25, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, cultural patron, and former senator. He practised as a litigation and commercial lawyer in Montreal and Toronto. He is a grandson of Arthur Meighen, the ninth Prime Minister o ...
and Peter White.Konrad Yakabuski, "Bernard Roy was Brian Mulroney's right-hand man," ''Globe and Mail'', April 15, 2013.
/ref> Mulroney would go on to be
Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
; Bouchard would be
Premier of Quebec The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the ...
; and Bazin, Cogger and Meighen would all become senators. While they were students, Roy was apparently the driving force to get them to study hard for their law degrees, as he did not think any of them had a future in politics. He ended up as Mulroney's chief of staff.


Legal career

Bazin was called to the
Barreau du Québec 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 1965, starting with the law firm of Byers Casgrain. He worked there for twenty-two years until he was called to the Senate.Maurice Jannard, "Bazin muet sur l'affaire Oerlikon", ''La Presse'', February 4, 1987.
/ref> In 1970-71, Bazin was president of the Association du Jeune Barreau de Montréal (Young Lawyers Bar of Montreal). In that capacity, he was involved in the creation of the Bureau de l’assistance judiciaire du Barreau de Montréal, a forerunner to the provincial Aide juridique (
Legal Aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...
) program. Bazin was also on the executives of the Barreau du Québec et the Barreau de Montréal (1972-1973).Barreau du Quebec - Distinction Avocat émérite - Liste des récipiendaires: Me Jean Bazin, c.r., AdE
/ref> From 1987 to 1988, he was the national president of the
Canadian Bar Association The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in Canadian French, French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada. History The Association's first Annu ...
. Bazin was appointed
Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
in 1984 by the federal government. In 2011, the Barreau awarded him the distinction of Avocat émérite, in recognition of his excellence as a lawyer, his service to the profession, and his long-standing interest in
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 ...
and
plain language Plain language is writing designed to ensure the reader understands as quickly, easily, and completely as possible. Plain language strives to be easy to read, understand, and use. It avoids verbose, convoluted language and jargon. In many countri ...
.


Political career

Bazin was active in the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...
, and initially supported
Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
. However, after becoming disenchanted with Clark's leadership, he joined in the group which was pushing for Mulroney to replace Clark as party leader.Les Whittington, "The PM's Pals - Same names crop up in Tory activities", Southam News - ''Prince George Citizen'' - January 30, 1987, p. 5.
/ref> In 1983, Mulroney was elected party leader. The following year, Mulroney led the Progressive Conservatives to a landslide victory in the 1984 general election. In 1986, the Mulroney government appointed Bazin to the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...
representing the
senatorial division Canadian Senate divisions refers to two aspects of the Senate of Canada. First, it refers to the division of Canada into four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators each, as set out in section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867.The Constitution Act ...
of De la Durantaye, Quebec. He sat as a Progressive Conservative and had the position of Vice-Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs. In 1987, there was a major political scandal when a piece of land in Quebec was sold at inflated price to the Swiss company
OC Oerlikon OC Oerlikon is a listed technology group headquartered in Pfäffikon (Schwyz), Switzerland. The name "Oerlikon" (or "œrlikon", as the company styles itself according to its corporate identity) comes from the Oerlikon district in Zurich where t ...
, which needed the land to fulfill a federal defence contract. Concerns arose that information had leaked to speculators from inside the government about the upcoming defence contract.Kenneth Freed, "New Canadian Scandal Accelerates Mulroney's Fall From Grace", ''Los Angeles Times'', January 23, 1987.
/ref> Bazin's firm, Byers Casgrain, was acting for Oerlikon and Bazin was one of the people who alerted the Prime Minister to concerns about the transaction. Mulroney dismissed a junior Cabinet minister and requested that the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
investigate the matter. Bazin declined to comment publicly on the matter, citing his duty to respect
solicitor–client privilege In common law jurisdictions, legal professional privilege protects all communications between a professional legal adviser (a solicitor, barrister or attorney) and his or her clients from being disclosed without the permission of the client. Th ...
. Bazin resigned from the Senate in 1989.


Career post-politics

Bazin is currently
counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...
with the Canadian branch of
Dentons Dentons is the largest multinational law firm in the world. Dentons was ranked as the world's 4th- largest law firm by revenue, with $2.9B gross revenue by Global 200 ranking in the fiscal year 2021. The firm is called Dentons in all languages o ...
, a multinational law firm. Following his time as senator, Bazin returned to the practice of law with his old firm, Byers Casgrain. When that firm merged with Fraser Milner, Bazin continued as a partner in the new firm,
Fraser Milner Casgrain ''As of March 28, 2013, Fraser Milner Casgrain combined with Salans and SNR Denton to form Dentons.'' Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC) was a Canadian business, litigation and tax law firm. With more than 560 lawyers (175 litigators) it was the ...
. In turn, Dentons was formed in 2013 when Fraser Milner Casgrain merged with two other large law firms, the Anglo-American SNR Denton and the French
Salans Salans may refer to: * Salans (law firm), a former law firm * Salans, Jura, a commune in France * Salans, Doubs, a settlement in France {{Disambiguation, geo ...
. He acts as commercial arbitrator and mediator in a number of fields. In 2004, there was a serious leadership dispute in the Mohawk community of
Kanesatake Kanesatake (''Kanehsatà:ke'' in Mohawk) is a Mohawk (''Kanien'kéha:ka'' in Mohawk) settlement on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Ottawa and Saint Lawrence rivers and about west of ...
, triggered by disagreements between the Grand Chief and other chiefs on the Kanesatake council. At one point, the Grand Chief's house burnt down and he left the community. The provincial government of Premier
Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House of ...
appointed Bazin as mediator, to help resolve the dispute. Bazin has been on 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 a number of bodies. He was the chair of the
Société générale de financement du Québec Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...
. He has also been on the boards of the
Canadian Unity Council The Canadian Unity Council (CUC) was a privately owned, non-profit organization whose mission was to promote the Canadian Unity and the current federal institutions. The CUC started as the "Canada Committee" in 1964, in the middle of Quebec's Quie ...
, the
Laurentian Bank The Laurentian Bank of Canada (LBC; french: Banque Laurentienne du Canada, link=no) is a Schedule I banks, Schedule 1 bank that operates primarily in the province of Quebec, with commercial and business banking offices located in Ontario, Alberta ...
, and Miranda Technologies Inc."Miranda Technologies Inc Appoints Two New Board Members", ''Broadcaster Magazine'', December 15, 2005.
/ref> Bazin also has sat on the boards of non-profit organizations, such as the Théâtre de Quat’Sous inc. and the
Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orche ...
. Jean Bazin died at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, on December 12, 2019.Jean BAZIN 1940 - 2019
/ref>


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bazin, Jean 1940 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Canadian lawyers Lawyers in Quebec Canadian senators from Quebec Politicians from Quebec City Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators French Quebecers Université Laval alumni Canadian King's Counsel Canadian Bar Association Presidents