Joseph Honoré Gérald Fauteux (October 22, 1900 – September 14, 1980) was a Canadian jurist and lawyer who served as the 13th

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada () is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court system. The '' Supreme Court Ac ...

from 1970 to 1973 and as a

puisne justice Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

from 1949 to 1970. Born in

Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie r ...

, the son of Homère Fauteux and Héva Mercier, he studied at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

and graduated with an LL.L in 1925. Called to the bar that year, he settled in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, where he practised with his uncle, Honoré Mercier Jr., forming the law firm of Mercier & Fauteux. From 1930 to 1936, he was Crown Prosecutor for Montreal, and in 1939 he became Chief Crown Prosecutor of the province of Quebec. In 1946 he was a legal adviser with the Royal Commission on Spying Activities in Canada. He taught

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

as a sessional lecturer at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

for 14 years and was the dean of the Faculty of Law from 1949 to 1950. In 1947 he was appointed to the

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdictio ...

and to the Supreme Court of Canada on December 22, 1949. He was also one of the founders of the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

's law faculty, serving as dean from 1953 to 1962. He was appointed the Chancellor of the

in 1973. On March 23, 1970, he was named Chief Justice of Canada, retiring on December 23, 1973, having served for 24 years on the court, four as Chief Justice. In 1974 he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Fauteux Hall which houses the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa is named after him. Chief Justice Fauteux died on September 14, 1980, at the age of 79 and was interred in the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (, ) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges Ro ...

in Montreal.

Family Relations

His grandfather,

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Libera ...

and his uncle,

Lomer Gouin Sir Jean Lomer Gouin (March 19, 1861 – March 28, 1929) was a Canadian politician. He served as 13th premier of Quebec, as a Cabinet minister in the federal government of Canada, and as the 15th lieutenant governor of Quebec. Biography ...

, were both former

Premiers of Quebec This is a list of the prime ministers of the province of Quebec since Canadian Confederation in 1867. Quebec uses a unicameral (originally bicameral) Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the prime minister is the leader of the ...

. His grandmother's second husband was Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and later

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Joseph Godbout. His brother was the politician

Gaspard Fauteux Gaspard Fauteux, (August 27, 1898 – March 29, 1963) was a Canadian parliamentarian, Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (1945–1949), and the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (1950–1958). He was born in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, to ...

References

External links

Supreme Court of Canada biography

Order of Canada Citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fauteux, Gerald 1900 births 1980 deaths Chancellors of the University of Ottawa Chief justices of Canada Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Companions of the Order of Canada People from Saint-Hyacinthe Lawyers in Quebec Université de Montréal alumni 20th-century Canadian lawyers Université de Montréal Faculty of Law alumni Academic staff of the University of Ottawa Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery