Antonio Lamer

Joseph Antonio Charles Lamer, PC, CC, CD (July 8, 1933 – November 24, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer, jurist and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Personal life

Born in Montreal, Quebec, he served in the Royal Canadian Artillery from 1950 to 1954 and in the Canadian Intelligence Corps from 1954 to 1960. In 1956, he graduated in law from the Université de Montréal and was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1957.

In 1987, he married Justice Danièle Tremblay-Lamer, a judge on the Federal Court.

He died in Ottawa of a cardiac condition on November 24, 2007.

Career

He practised in partnership at the firm of Cutler, Lamer, Bellemare and Associates and was a full professor in the Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, where he was also a lecturer in criminology.

On December 19, 1969, he was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court and to the Queen's Bench (Crown Side) of the province of Quebec. In 1978, he was elevated to the Quebec Court of Appeal and was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1980. He was named Chief Justice on July 1, 1990 and retired on January 7, 2000.

He joined the law firm Stikeman Elliott in a senior advisory role and was appointed Associate Professor of Law at the Université de Montréal in 2000. He was appointed Communications Security Establishment Commissioner on June 19, 2003, a position he held until August 1, 2006. He also served as Honorary Colonel of the Governor General's Foot Guards.

In March 2003, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador chose Lamer to oversee an inquiry into how the criminal justice system dealt with three discredited murder convictions. The hearings lasted about three years. Specifically Lamer was tasked to conduct an investigation into the death of Catherine Carroll and the circumstances surrounding the resulting criminal proceedings against Gregory Parsons, and an investigation into the death of Brenda Young and the circumstances surrounding the resulting criminal proceedings against Randy Druken. Lamer was also asked to inquire as to why Ronald Dalton’s appeal of his murder conviction took eight years before it was brought on for a hearing in the Court of Appeal.

Awards

He was a Companion of the Order of Canada. He received honorary degrees from the Université de Moncton, University of Ottawa, Université de Montréal, University of Toronto, University of New Brunswick, Dalhousie University, University of British Columbia, and Saint Paul University.

From 1992 to 1998, Chief Justice Lamer was Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the 62^nd (Shawinigan) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA.

References

External links