By: Jason K. Everett, Staff Writer, International Judicial Monitor
Beverly
McLachlin currently serves as the 17th Chief Justice of Canada. She
is the first woman to hold this esteemed role and also the longest serving Chief
Justice in Canadian history.
Born
in Pincher Creek, Alberta to parents of German descent, McLachlin received her
BA, MA, and LLB from the University of Alberta. During her tenure as an LLB
student, McLachlin earned the gold medal as top student and served as
Editor-in-Chief of the Alberta Law Review. Following graduation,
McLachlin was admitted to the Bar of Alberta in 1969 and to the Bar of British
Columbia in 1971. Before her foray into service as a judge, McLachlin
practiced law from 1969 until 1975 and also taught from 1974 to 1981 at the
University of British Columbia.
McLachlin
was appointed to the County Court of Vancouver in 1980, a selection quickly
followed by her appointment to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Five
years later, in 1985, she was appointed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal
where she served for three years until her installation as Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of British Columbia. Within one year McLachlin rose within the
robed ranks once again and was appointed as a Puisne Justice to the Supreme
Court of Canada (March 30, 1989) and was made Chief Justice of Canada less than
one year later, in January of 2000.
Notably,
McLachlin stepped in to perform the duties of the Governor General, the administrator
of Canada, when Governor General Adrienne Clarkson was hospitalized for surgery
in July, 2005. During her brief time in this position she granted royal assent
to the Civil Marriage Act, essentially legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada.
When Governor General Clarkson returned to good health in late July McLachlin
relinquished the role.
In
addition to the honor of serving as Chief Justice of Canada, McLachlin is the
Chairperson of the Canadian Judicial Council, serves on the Advisory Council of
the Order of Canada, as well as on the Board of Governors of the National
Judicial Institute. She is also a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for
Canada (a group of personal consultants on state and
constitutional affairs). In 2008 she was made a Commander of the Legion of
Honor by the Government of France and in December 2006 she was appointed
Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John.
In
her judicial role she believes her function is one that requires “conscious
objectivity.” In describing this, she stated:
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What you have to try to do as a judge, whether
you’re on charter issues or any other issue, is by an act of the imagination,
put yourself in the shoes of the different parties, and think about how it
looks from their perspective, and really think about it, not just give it lip
service.
As a judge, and I’ve been a judge for a long time,
I have always resolved to just try to judge the issues as honestly as I can,
and not to think about things in too strategic a manner. My job is simply to
listen to what the parties have to say, and to do my best to understand the
position, the ramifications of deciding one way or the other, to think about
what’s best for Canadian society on this particular problem that’s before us,
and give it my best judgment after listening to, also, my eight other
colleagues. So there’s a consensual element there.
McLachlin
has further stated that she thinks “the court belongs to the Canadian people
and [as such] it should reflect the Canadian people.” Her judgment seems to be
a feat of neutral evaluation of competing positions, consciously free of
passion or perspective.
However,
despite her current reputation for machine-like neutrality, McLachlin was
characterized as a judge with libertarian leanings during her early years on
the bench. This characterization emerged following her dissent in the case of R.
v. Keegstra (upholding the Criminal Code provision prohibiting the willful
promotion of hatred against an identifiable group as constitutional under the
freedom of expression provision in section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms). Her position was that the section of the Code in question
was unconstitutional and infringed upon the guarantee of freedom of
expression. This characterization was strengthened in R. v. Zundel (striking down the provision in the Criminal Code that prohibited the
publication of false information or news). McLachlin, writing for the court,
conveyed the position that such a prohibition violated the freedom of
expression provision under the aforementioned section 2(b) of the Canadian
Charter. McLachlin noted that while the defendant’s actions “misrepresented the
work of historians, misquoted witnesses, fabricated evidence, and cited
non-existing authorities” it was still protected speech under the Charter
regardless of how many may disagree with its content.
Presently,
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin still serves of the bench, further cementing
her title as “Longest Serving Chief Justice in Canadian History.”
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International
Judicial Monitor