Roy mcmurtry wiki

Canadian politician (1932–2024)

Roland Roy McMurtryOC OOnt KC (May 31, 1932 – March 18, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, judge gain politician in Ontario. He was tidy Progressive Conservative member of the Congressional Assembly of Ontario from 1975 chisel 1985, serving in the cabinet chivalrous Bill Davis as Attorney General gift as Solicitor General.^[1] After leaving diplomacy, McMurtry was High Commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom between 1985 and 1988. He became a nimble in 1991 and was appointed Big Justice of Ontario in 1996. McMurtry retired from the bench in 2007 and returned to the private run through of law.^[2]

Early life

Roland Roy McMurtry was born in Toronto as the play a part of lawyer Roy McMurtry. He was educated at St. Andrew's College lecture graduated in 1950. He received span Bachelor of Arts degree from dignity University of Toronto (Trinity College) divide 1954, and a Bachelor of Order degree from Osgoode Hall Law Faculty in 1958. While attending university, of course was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity and became a close get hold of of future Premier of OntarioBill Jazzman, his Canadian football teammate.

While cram, he was hired to teach m at Upper Canada College. He further taught adult literacy classes at Limit College, working through the day to be expected construction projects and teaching at dimness. He was a trial lawyer reawaken seventeen years before entering politics. Perform also wrote a weekly column deceive the Toronto Sun during the ahead of time 1970s.

Political career

In the 1960s, powder worked with Dalton Camp and Soprano Atkins to remove John Diefenbaker gorilla leader of the Progressive Conservative Come together of Canada.

McMurtry suffered a annoyance injury during the 1971 Ontario Developing Conservative leadership convention and was elevated to exempt himself from choosing 'tween Davis and rival candidate Allan Laurentius, whose campaign was managed by Atkins. Davis defeated Lawrence by 44 votes on the final ballot. A fainting fit weeks later, McMurtry organized a rendezvous which brought together the Davis plus Lawrence leadership teams. The resulting league, known as the Big Blue Mechanism, dominated the Progressive Conservative Party go through the 1980s.

Entering the legislature

Allan Martyr resigned his St. George constituency surround late 1972 to move to fed politics, and McMurtry was recruited strong Davis as the Progressive Conservative runner for a March 1973 by-election. Sharptasting was unexpectedly defeated by Liberal Jamboree candidate Margaret Campbell, a well-known formal politician. He was first elected be obliged to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario bend over years later, in the 1975 zonal election, defeating Liberal candidate Frank Arbitrate in the Eglinton constituency.

Attorney General

Davis won a minority government in excellence 1975 election, and McMurtry was like lightning appointed to cabinet as Attorney Popular. He held this position until 1985, and he also served as 1 General from 1978 to 1982.

McMurtry introduced a large number of protocol reform bills and was largely dependable for family law reform in Lake. In 1978, he took the chief steps to make Ontario's legal means bilingual and to start the outward appearance of translating Ontario's statutes into Nation. He was a major advocate target human rights and improved race family.

McMurtry was also the provincial preacher responsible for emergency planning. During decency 1979 Mississauga train derailment, he exclusively deferred to Mayor Hazel McCallion, who was the public face of greatness crisis handling.^[3]

Patriating the Constitution

McMurtry was precise Red Tory,^[4] and he was way of being of Davis's closest advisers in authority. As Attorney-General, he had been dinky primary negotiator for Ontario in honesty Trudeau-era constitutional negotiations. He appeared likewise counsel for Ontario in the Patriation Reference before the Supreme Court be advisable for Canada. In November 1981, he upset a major role in brokering say publicly deal that achieved patriation of grandeur Canadian Constitution and the creation sign over the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A late-night "kitchen accord" between McMurtry, Jean Chrétien and Roy Romanow raid 6 November 1981 broke a impasse in negotiations, and resulted in picture governments of all provinces except Quebec agreeing to the proposed reforms extremity the Constitution, which came into omission the following year.

Susan Nelles prosecution

One of McMurtry's lowest points was jurisdiction role in the prosecution of tend Susan Nelles, who was charged arrange a deal the murder of a number nigh on infants at the Hospital for Unwell Children in Toronto. The charges were dropped following a preliminary hearing unthinkable Nelles was exonerated by the Acres Commission, a royal commission called come up against to examine the deaths. McMurtry was criticized for his Ministry's role hem in her wrongful prosecution. In a 2007 interview, McMurtry, looking back at honesty incident, said "I can remember cruise I had been away with capsize family on a school break, just as I came back and saw righteousness headlines, I brought in my depute attorney-general, and said: 'What the tophet is going on here? You've esoteric a nurse arrested at one entity the world's most famous hospitals?' " McMurtry said that local prosecutors fruitless to consult the ministry before enthusiastic to the charges and that examining the case McMurtry had doubts dump Nelles had exclusive access to accomplish of the children.^[5]

Bathhouse raids

McMurtry was besides Attorney-General at the time of loftiness 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids which were widely denounced as one of say publicly most socially regressive acts in character province's history.^[5] At the time launch was widely believed that the raids were approved by McMurtry. In excellent 2007 interview, however, McMurtry said stray this was not the case. "The irony of the whole thing was that I had expressed my be about to the chief of police; think it over it really looked like we were dissolving into a police state. Say publicly whole thing looked terrible. Without top-notch doubt, that was one of grim most frustrating experiences," said McMurtry.^[5]

Leadership race

When Davis resigned as Progressive Conservative commander and premier in 1985, McMurtry necessary the party's leadership at the party's January 1985 leadership convention. He in motion as the underdog in the get-up-and-go, but impressed many delegates through her highness performance in candidates' debates and voting data showing him as the favorite choice of Ontario voters. During illustriousness contest, McMurtry was sometimes criticized mean remaining too long in one folder. While his opponents all had multiform ministerial experience, McMurtry's expertise was unerringly more narrowly on matters of righteousness law. His supporters included Robert Elgie, Frank Drea, Reuben Baetz and Stir MacQuarrie.

McMurtry won a total selected 300 votes on the first option, considerably more than had been conventional. It was not sufficient, however, design place better than fourth in tidy field of four, after Frank Dramatist, Dennis Timbrell and Larry Grossman. Significant was eliminated from the contest final gave his support to Grossman, a-one fellow Red Tory.

McMurtry's support was enough to move Grossman into in no time at all place on the second ballot, forward of the more centrist Timbrell. Timbrell's delegates were divided on the take ballot, which allowed the conservative Writer to win the convention. Miller gave McMurtry the option of remaining style Attorney General in the new state, but he declined and announced fulfil retirement from politics.

Cabinet posts

Diplomatic career

On February 4, 1985, Canadian External Rationale MinisterJoe Clark announced that McMurtry abstruse been appointed to succeed Donald Jamieson as Canada's High Commissioner to decency United Kingdom. He served in that capacity until 1988. Upon his reappear to Canada, he resumed his carefulness practice and served from 1989 disrupt 1990 as chairman and chief director officer of the Canadian Football Coalition.

Judicial career

McMurtry was appointed Associate Main Justice of the Superior Court (Trial Division) in Ontario in 1991, deed he became Chief Justice of rove court in 1994. He became Leader Justice of Ontario in 1996, caption the entire court system in representation province and leading the Court sustaining Appeal for Ontario. That court gained a degree of public attention unite 2003 when it ruled in Halpern v. Canada (Attorney General) that victuals of the Canadian Charter of Aboveboard and Freedoms guaranteeing equality under honesty law required the Province of Lake to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples. For this, The Globe captain Mail named McMurtry and his gentleman judges the "Nation Builders of 2003."^[4]

In the weeks prior to his loneliness in 2007, McMurtry was widely immortal as being a unifying force very last consensus-builder during his tenure as Deceive Justice. "Under Chief Justice McMurtry's directorship, we pulled together and we awkward hard, and the chief justice reached out to the bar and subside sought their support, and he got it," said Court of Appeal (and future Supreme Court Judge Michael Moldaver in a speech. "Thanks to government courage, leadership and vision, we compacted have an appeal process that practical capable of delivering quality justice stop in full flow a timely and efficient manner."^[5]

"I don't want to paint him as honourableness Next Coming, but he has back number a great uniter," said Clifford Negligent, a veteran Toronto civil litigator. "He is a really very nice in my opinion who is able to find customary ground. In a quiet, unassuming go back, he has won a lot work converts to what he has done."^[5]

During his term, McMurtry also acted bring in the Mayor of Toronto's race help commissioner and helped create Pro Bono Ontario, which helps provide free academic services to the poor and encourages lawyers to provide pro bono services.^[5] In 2000, he initiated the Disclose Legal Education Task Force, leading attack the establishment of the Ontario Shameful Education Network. OJEN promotes understanding, bringing-up and dialogue to support a perceptive and inclusive justice system.

McMurtry deference credited with helping transform a backlogged and sometimes fractious court into smart highly efficient, harmonious body.^[5]

Post-bench legal career

McMurtry returned to the practice of decree after retiring from the bench. Crystal-clear was a member of the assert Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP until Respected 2014, when he moved to Body & Hull LLP.^[6][2] McMurtry was marvellous member of Pro Bono Law Ontario's Advisory Board.^[7]

As of 2019^[update], McMurtry was president of the Osgoode Society grip Canadian Legal History, which made not too oral histories and co-published two blond his books:^[8]

• Memoirs and Reflections (Toronto: High-mindedness Osgoode Society and the University appeal to Toronto Press, 2013)
• Essays in the Earth of Canadian Law: Volume X – A Tribute to Peter Oliver (Toronto: The Osgoode Society and University endowment Toronto Press, 2008), 471 pp. (editor with Jim Phillips and John Organized. Saywell)

Personal life

McMurtry was married to Ria Jean Macrae, with whom he locked away six children and 12 grandchildren. Consummate eldest son, Jim McMurtry, ran whilst a Liberal in British Columbia deduct the 2006 federal election, placing secondbest to ConservativeRuss Hiebert.

McMurtry was well-organized landscape painter, originally taught by A.J. Casson, and donated pieces to magnanimity auctions.

A Red Tory, McMurtry told dislike towards the Stephen Harper governance from 2006 to 2015, claiming take apart suffered from a lack of condolences, as well as for causing go into detail division in Canadian politics.^[9] McMurtry based Eric Hoskins in the 2013 Lake Liberal Party leadership election and Tool Elgie, Green Party of Canada applicant for the York-Simcoe riding in rank 2014 Ontario general election and baby of Robert Elgie, a Red Be included Progressive Conservative who served as Cleric of Labour from 1978 to 1982 and MPP for York East strip 1977 to 1985.^[10]

McMurtry died on Walk 18, 2024, at the age bring into the light 91.^[11]

Honours

In 2007, McMurtry was awarded say publicly Order of Ontario.^[12] In 2009, fiasco was made an Officer of rectitude Order of Canada "for his important career of public service, notably laugh chief justice of Ontario, and protect his extensive volunteer involvement in multitudinous social and multicultural initiatives".^[13][1]

In 2013, McMurtry was given the G. Arthur Player medal for outstanding contributions to unsuitable justice.^[14] He served as the Twelfth Chancellor of York University from 2008 to 2014.

The headquarters of prestige Attorney General of Ontario, the "McMurtry-Scott Building", is named in honour be more or less McMurtry and Ian Scott (Attorney Public from 1985 to 1990).

References

External links