Beverley McLachlin
{{Short description|Chief Justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017}}
{{Redirect|McLachlin|the surname|McLachlin (surname)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable
| name = Beverley McLachlin
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CC|size=100%}}
| image = Beverley McLachlin (crop).jpg
| alt = McLachlin in 2007
| caption = McLachlin in 2007
| office2 = Non-Permanent Judge of the
Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong
| term_label2 = in office
| term_start2 = July 30, 2018
| term_end2 = July 29, 2024
| nominator2 =
| appointer2 = Carrie Lam
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| office = 17th Chief Justice of Canada
| term_start = January 7, 2000
| term_end = December 15, 2017
| nominator = Jean Chrétien
| appointer = Adrienne Clarkson
| predecessor = Antonio Lamer
| successor = Richard Wagner
| office3 = Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
| term_start3 = March 30, 1989
| term_end3 = January 7, 2000
| nominator3 = Brian Mulroney
| appointer3 = Jeanne Sauvé
| predecessor3 = William McIntyre
| successor3 = Louis LeBel
| office4 = Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of British Columbia
| term_start4 = 1988
| term_end4= 1990
| nominator4 =
| appointer4 = Jeanne Sauvé
| predecessor4 =
| successor4 =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|9|7}}
| birth_place = Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada
| death_date =
| death_place =
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| birthname = Beverley Gietz
| party =
| otherparty =
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Roderick McLachlin|1967|1988|end=died}}
- {{marriage|Frank McArdle|1992}}
}}
| partner =
| relations =
| children = Angus McLachlin (b. 1976)
| parents =
| residence =
| education =
| alma_mater = University of Alberta (BA, MA, LLB)
| occupation =
| profession = Judge
| cabinet =
| committees =
| portfolio =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
| module = {{Infobox Chinese
| embed = yes
| child = yes
| order = ts
| t = {{linktext|麥|嘉|琳}}
| s = 麦嘉琳
| j = Mak6 Gaa1 Lam4
| y = Mahk Gā Làhm
| p = Mài Jiālín}}
}}
Beverley Marian McLachlin {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CC}} (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the position.
Early life and family
McLachlin was born Beverley Gietz in Pincher Creek, Alberta, the eldest child of Eleanora Marian (née Kruschell) and Ernest Gietz. Her parents, who were of German descent, were "fundamentalist Christians"{{cite book|last1=Slayton|first1=Philip |author-link=Philip Slayton|title=Mighty Judgment: How the Supreme Court of Canada Runs Your Life|date=2011-04-11|isbn=978-0-14-318051-7|page=145|publisher=Penguin Books }} of the Pentecostal Church.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/religious-upbringing-influences-chief-justice/article1039974/|title=Religious upbringing influences Chief Justice|last=The Canadian Press|author-link=The Canadian Press|date=May 25, 2000|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=April 5, 2020|archive-date=September 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923044920/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/religious-upbringing-influences-chief-justice/article1039974/|url-status=live}} She received a B.A. and an M.A. in philosophy as well as an LL.B. degree (winning the gold medal as top student, and serving as notes editor of the Alberta Law Review) from the University of Alberta.{{Cite book|last=McLachlin|first=Beverley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VDX4DwAAQBAJ|title=Truth Be Told: The Story of My Life and My Fight for Equality|date=2020-09-15|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-9821-0497-9|language=en|page=112}}
McLachlin has one son, Angus (born 1976), from her first marriage to Roderick McLachlin, who took care of much of Angus's upbringing.{{cite news|last=Brean|first=Joseph|date=May 23, 2015|title='Conscious objectivity': That's how the chief justice defines the top court's role. Harper might beg to differ|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/conscious-objectivity-thats-how-the-chief-justice-defines-the-top-courts-role-harper-might-beg-to-differ|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216030553/https://nationalpost.com/news/conscious-objectivity-thats-how-the-chief-justice-defines-the-top-courts-role-harper-might-beg-to-differ|archive-date=December 16, 2020|access-date=2016-02-17|website=National Post}} Roderick McLachlin died of cancer in 1988, a few days after she was appointed chief justice of the B.C. Supreme Court. In 1992, McLachlin married Frank McArdle, a lawyer and the executive director of the Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association.
Career
=Lawyer and professor (1969-1981)=
McLachlan was called to the bar of Alberta in 1969 where she worked with the Edmonton firm of Wood, Moir, Hyde & Ross. The Law Society of British Columbia in 1971 called her to its bar in 1971 and she worked for the firm Bull Houser Tupper from 1972 until 1975.{{cite news |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/beverley-mclachlin |title=Beverley McLachlin }}
From 1974 to 1981, she was a professor at the University of British Columbia.
=Lower court judge (1981-1989)=
In April 1981, McLachlin was appointed to the County Court of Vancouver. Five months later, in September 1981, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scc-csc.ca/judges-juges/bio-eng.aspx?id=beverley-mclachlin|title=Beverley McLachlin|date=2018-07-06|access-date=2020-01-14|archive-date=July 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722214153/https://scc-csc.ca/judges-juges/bio-eng.aspx?id=beverley-mclachlin|url-status=live|publisher=Supreme Court of Canada}} In December 1985, McLachlin was appointed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
In September 1988, McLachlin was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
=Supreme Court judge (1989-2017)=
File:Beverley McLachlin 2008 (cropped).jpg
{{also|Reasons of the Supreme Court of Canada by Beverley McLachlin}}
{{also|List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (McLachlin Court)}}
McLachlin was nominated by Brian Mulroney to be made a puisne justice to the Supreme Court of Canada on March 30, 1989, and an ex-officio member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. Among early contributions to the judicial institution, she wrote the majority judgment in:
- R v Hebert [1990] 2 S.C.R. 151, the leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on an accused's right to silence under section seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
- R v Zundel [1992] 2 S.C.R. 731 is a Supreme Court of Canada decision where the Court struck down the provision in the Criminal Code that prohibited publication of false news on the basis that it violated the freedom of expression provision under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
On the advice of Jean Chrétien, McLachlin was appointed the chief justice of Canada on January 7, 2000.
Upon being sworn into the Supreme Court of Canada, she also became a deputy of the Governor General of Canada together with the other justices of the Supreme Court. When Governor General Adrienne Clarkson was hospitalized for a cardiac pacemaker operation on July 8, 2005, McLachlin performed the duties of the governor general as the administrator of Canada.{{Cite news|last1=Grittani-Livingston|first1=Megan|date=January 17, 2007|title=Canada's Chief Justice lays down the law|url=https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2006-01-17/features/canadas-chief-justice-lays-down-law/|access-date=2020-12-16|work=The Queen's Journal|language=en|archive-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029200158/https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2006-01-17/features/canadas-chief-justice-lays-down-law/|url-status=live}} In her role as administrator, she gave royal assent to the Civil Marriage Act which legalized same-sex marriage nationally in Canada. She relinquished that task when the governor general returned to good health in late July.
While she was Chief Justice, McLachlin chaired the Canadian Judicial Council. She is also on the board of governors of the National Judicial Institute and on the advisory council of the Order of Canada.
In July 2013, during the consultation period prior to appointment for Marc Nadon, Chief Justice McLachlin contacted justice minister Peter MacKay and the Prime Minister's Office regarding the eligibility of Marc Nadon for a Quebec seat on the Supreme Court.{{cite web|date=February 5, 2014|title=News Release|url=http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/news/en/item/4602/index.do|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702073406/http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/news/en/item/4602/index.do|archive-date=July 2, 2015|access-date=2016-02-17|publisher=Supreme Court of Canada}} Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated that he had refused a phone call from McLachlin on the attorney general's advice. Harper's comments were criticized by the legal community and a complaint was forwarded to the International Commission of Jurists in Switzerland.{{cite news|last=MacCharles|first=Tonda|date=May 2, 2014|title=Stephen Harper lashes out at top judge on Supreme Court|newspaper=Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/05/02/stephen_harper_lashes_out_at_top_judge_on_supreme_court.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208211719/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/05/02/stephen_harper_lashes_out_at_top_judge_on_supreme_court.html|archive-date=December 8, 2017}}{{cite news|last=MacCharles|first=Tonda|date=May 13, 2014|title=Legal community demands Stephen Harper withdraw criticism of Beverley McLachlin|newspaper=Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/05/13/canadas_legal_community_steps_up_its_demand_that_stephen_harper_withdraw_criticism_of_chief_justice.html|url-status=live|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429185410/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/05/13/canadas_legal_community_steps_up_its_demand_that_stephen_harper_withdraw_criticism_of_chief_justice.html|archive-date=April 29, 2017}} The International Commission of Jurists concluded that Beverly McLachlin deserved an apology from Harper, but none had been given as of July 2014.{{cite news|last=Fitz-Morris|first=James|date=July 25, 2014|title=International Commission of Jurists demands Stephen Harper apologize to Beverley McLachlin|newspaper=CBC News|url=http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/politics/beverley-mclachlin-chief-justice-deserves-apology-from-pm-international-jurists-say-1.2718342|url-status=live|access-date=October 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028145402/http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/politics/beverley-mclachlin-chief-justice-deserves-apology-from-pm-international-jurists-say-1.2718342|archive-date=October 28, 2014}}
In May 2015, McLachlin was invited to speak at the Global Centre for Pluralism, and said that Canada attempted to commit "cultural genocide" against aboriginal peoples in what she called the worst stain on Canada's human-rights record.{{cite news|author=Fine|first=Sean|date=May 28, 2015|title=Chief Justice says Canada attempted 'cultural genocide' on aboriginals|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/chief-justice-says-canada-attempted-cultural-genocide-on-aboriginals/article24688854/|url-status=live|access-date=2016-02-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826090619/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/chief-justice-says-canada-attempted-cultural-genocide-on-aboriginals/article24688854/|archive-date=August 26, 2017}} University of Regina academic Ken Coates supported McLachlin, and said that she was "only stating what is clearly in the minds of judges, lawyers and aboriginal people across the country".{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/mclachlin-said-what-many-have-long-known/article24704812/|title=McLachlin said what many have long known|author=Ken Coates|access-date=2016-02-17|publisher=The Globe and Mail|archive-date=October 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012113047/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/mclachlin-said-what-many-have-long-known/article24704812/|url-status=live}} Others were less sympathetic. Columnist Lysiane Gagnon called the comments "unacceptable" and "highly inflammatory" and suggested that McLachlin had opened herself up to accusations of prejudice.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/mclachlins-comments-a-disservice-to-her-court-and-to-aboriginals/article24879482/|title=McLachlin's comments a disservice to her court, and to aboriginals|last1=Lysiane|first1=Gagnon|date=June 10, 2015|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=June 10, 2015|archive-date=November 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121080123/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/mclachlins-comments-a-disservice-to-her-court-and-to-aboriginals/article24879482/|url-status=live}} Gordon Gibson, another columnist, said the use of the word "genocide" was incendiary and disproportionate and that the Chief Justice's comments made her sound like a legislator.{{cite news|last1=Gibson|first1=Gordon|author-link=Gordon Gibson (politician, born 1937)|date=June 10, 2015|title=It is bad for democracy when nine unelected people can make law|work=National Post|url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/gordon-gibson-it-is-bad-for-democracy-when-nine-unelected-people-can-make-law|url-status=live|access-date=June 10, 2015|archive-date=December 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216030556/https://nationalpost.com/opinion/gordon-gibson-it-is-bad-for-democracy-when-nine-unelected-people-can-make-law}}
McLachlin retired from the Supreme Court on December 15, 2017, nine months before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.{{cite news|last=MacCharles|first=Tonda|date=June 12, 2017|title=Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin to retire from Supreme Court of Canada|work=Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/06/12/chief-justice-beverley-mclachlin-to-step-down-from-supreme-court-of-canada.html|url-status=live|access-date=June 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612212517/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/06/12/chief-justice-beverley-mclachlin-to-step-down-from-supreme-court-of-canada.html|archive-date=June 12, 2017}} Her successor as Chief Justice of Canada is Richard Wagner, who was nominated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017.{{cite press release|title=Prime Minister names the Honourable Richard Wagner as new Chief Justice of Canada|url=https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2017/12/12/prime-minister-names-honourable-richard-wagner-new-chief-justice-canada|website=pm.gc.ca|publisher=PMO|access-date=December 12, 2017|language=en|date=December 12, 2017|archive-date=July 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723110727/https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2017/12/12/prime-minister-names-honourable-richard-wagner-new-chief-justice-canada|url-status=live}} Her successor as a justice of the court is Sheilah Martin, who was nominated by Trudeau through a new process for judicial appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada that permitted, "any Canadian lawyer or judge who fits a specified criteria" to apply.{{cite news|author=Justin Trudeau|author-link=Justin Trudeau|date=August 2, 2016|title=Why Canada has a new way to choose Supreme Court judges|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-canada-has-a-new-way-to-choose-supreme-court-judges/article31220275/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518100914/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-canada-has-a-new-way-to-choose-supreme-court-judges/article31220275/|archive-date=May 18, 2017|access-date=April 24, 2017|website=The Globe and Mail}}{{cite press release|url=http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2016/08/02/new-process-judicial-appointments-supreme-court-canada|title=New process for judicial appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada|date=August 2, 2016|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=July 14, 2017|archive-date=July 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713224832/http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2016/08/02/new-process-judicial-appointments-supreme-court-canada|url-status=live}}{{cite press release|title=Prime Minister announces nomination of the Honourable Sheilah L. Martin to the Supreme Court of Canada|date=November 29, 2017|publisher=PMO|url=https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2017/11/29/prime-minister-announces-nomination-honourable-sheilah-l-martin-supreme-court-canada|website=pm.gc.ca|access-date=November 29, 2017|archive-date=November 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129150217/https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2017/11/29/prime-minister-announces-nomination-honourable-sheilah-l-martin-supreme-court-canada|url-status=live}}
==On the Charter==
- {{cite journal|last1=McLachlin|first1=Beverley|year=1990|title=The Role of the Court in the Post-Charter Era: Policy-Maker or Adjudicator?|url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/unblj/article/view/29769|journal=University of New Brunswick Law Journal|volume=39|pages=43–64}}
- {{Cite journal|last=McLachlin|first=Beverley|year=1991|title=The Charter: A New Role for the Judiciary|url=https://www.albertalawreview.com/index.php/ALR/article/view/1544|journal=Alberta Law Review|volume=29|issue=3|pages=540–559|doi=10.29173/alr1544|issn=1925-8356|doi-access=free}}
- {{cite journal|last1=McLachlin|first1=Beverley|title=The Charter 25 Years Later: The Good, the Bad, and the Challenges|journal=Osgoode Hall Law Journal|volume=45|issue=2|year=2007|pages=365–377|doi=10.60082/2817-5069.1245 |s2cid=146383118 |url=https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1245&context=ohlj|doi-access=free}}
=Since retirement=
From 2016 to 2020, she was a college visitor at Massey College.{{Cite web|title=Governance|url=https://www.masseycollege.ca/about/governance/|access-date=2020-12-16|publisher=Massey College|language=en-US|archive-date=November 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102111943/https://www.masseycollege.ca/about/governance/|url-status=live}} In 2017, she was elected Visitor of Queens' College, Cambridge.
==International jurist==
McLachlin was nominated in March 2018 to become a non-permanent member of the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. The court appoints foreign judges from common-law jurisdictions outside of Hong Kong, of which McLachlin is the first Canadian, to sit as non-permanent members of the court.{{cite news|last=Fine|first=Sean|date=March 21, 2018|title=Former chief justice Beverley McLachlin nominated for Hong Kong's top court|work=The Globe and Mail|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-beverley-mclachlin-nominated-for-hong-kongs-top-court/|url-status=live|access-date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322091219/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-beverley-mclachlin-nominated-for-hong-kongs-top-court/|archive-date=March 22, 2018}} Her three-year appointment was approved by the Hong Kong Legislative Council,{{cite web|last=Lum|first=Alvin|date=April 28, 2018|title=Pro-Beijing lawmakers voice concerns over foreign judges' support for gay rights|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2143767/pro-beijing-lawmakers-speak-out-against-two-female-foreign|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429093003/http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2143767/pro-beijing-lawmakers-speak-out-against-two-female-foreign|archive-date=April 29, 2018|access-date=2018-04-29|website=South China Morning Post}} and the chief executive gazetted the appointment effective July 30, 2018.{{Cite web|title=Hong Kong Gazette Notice GN5815/2018|url=https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20182231/egn201822315815.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904052542/https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20182231/egn201822315815.pdf|archive-date=September 4, 2018|access-date=September 3, 2018}} McLachlin's appointment was accompanied by those of Brenda Hale, also as non-permanent judge, and Andrew Cheung, as permanent judge, at the court.{{cite web|date=March 21, 2018|title=Appointment of non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions of the Court of Final Appeal|url=http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201803/21/P2018032100305.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322020821/http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201803/21/P2018032100305.htm|archive-date=March 22, 2018|access-date=March 21, 2018|publisher=Government of Hong Kong}}{{cite web|last=Lum|first=Alvin|date=March 21, 2018|title=Hong Kong's top court gets two female foreign judges in historic first|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2138271/two-female-foreign-judges-appointed-hong-kongs-top-court|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321121811/http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2138271/two-female-foreign-judges-appointed-hong-kongs-top-court|archive-date=March 21, 2018|access-date=March 21, 2018|website=South China Morning Post}} She was reappointed to the court in 2021 for a second three-year term.{{Cite news |last=Blackwell |first=Tom |date=2021-08-02 |title=Canada's ex-chief justice renews job on top Hong Kong court despite Beijing's tightening grip |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canadas-ex-chief-justice-renews-job-on-top-hong-kong-court-despite-beijings-tightening-grip |access-date=2021-09-26 |work=National Post}}
Her service on the court has been criticized amidst the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests and imposition of the National Security Law, which is seen by Western observers as threatening civil liberties in the city. As a Court of Final Appeal judge, McLachlin would be required to uphold the law in appellate judgements. A motion at the Law Society of Ontario to condemn her appointment was defeated 28–17 in February 2021. In June 2022, she announced her decision to remain on the court which she believes to still be independent.{{cite web |last1=Raycraft |first1=Richard |title=Former chief justice McLachlin says she'll stay on Hong Kong court despite crackdown on human rights |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mclachlin-hong-kong-court-1.6491498 |website=CBC News |access-date=16 June 2022 |date=16 June 2022}} McLachlin has stated her intention to retire once her term in Hong Kong expires in July 2024.{{cite web |title=Top Canadian judge will step down from Hong Kong's top court following other resignations |url=https://apnews.com/article/hong-kong-overseas-british-judge-resign-baa56277d8ce9f9cac17586eb66978f9 |website=AP News |access-date=11 June 2024 |date=11 June 2024}}
In 2024 McLachlin retired as a non-permanent member on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.{{cite news |title=Former chief justice Beverley McLachlin to step down from controversial Hong Kong court |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/beverly-mclachlin-to-step-down-hong-kong-court-1.7230103 |access-date=June 10, 2024 |work=CBC News |date=June 10, 2024}}
McLachlin also serves as an international judge on the Singapore International Commercial Court.{{Cite web |title=Judges |url=https://www.judiciary.gov.sg/singapore-international-commercial-court/about-the-sicc/judges |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Default |language=en}}
== Novelist and memoirist ==
In 2018, McLachlin published a legal thriller novel titled Full Disclosure.{{Cite news|last1=Carter|first1=Sue|date=2018-05-11|title=How Beverley McLachlin wrote her first thriller while holding a full-time job as Chief Justice of Canada|language=en|work=Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2018/05/11/how-beverley-mclachlin-wrote-her-first-thriller-while-holding-a-full-time-job-as-chief-justice-of-canada.html|url-status=live|access-date=2020-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513054305/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2018/05/11/how-beverley-mclachlin-wrote-her-first-thriller-while-holding-a-full-time-job-as-chief-justice-of-canada.html|archive-date=May 13, 2018}} Her second novel, Denial, was published in 2021 by Simon & Schuster.{{Cite web |date=July 12, 2021 |title=Denial |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/denial-1.6099352 |access-date=November 14, 2023 |website=CBC}} She followed up with Proof in 2024.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/proof-by-beverley-mclachlin-1.7276444}}
McLachlin's memoir Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and the Law, was published in 2019. It won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing in 2020.{{Cite news|date=2020-09-24|title=Beverley McLachlin wins $25K Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for memoir Truth Be Told|language=en-US|work=CBC Books|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/beverley-mclachlin-wins-25k-shaughnessy-cohen-prize-for-political-writing-for-memoir-truth-be-told-1.5736870|url-status=live|access-date=2020-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926124127/https://www.cbc.ca/books/beverley-mclachlin-wins-25k-shaughnessy-cohen-prize-for-political-writing-for-memoir-truth-be-told-1.5736870|archive-date=September 26, 2020}}
Judicial philosophy
McLachlin has defined the judicial function as one that requires conscious objectivity, which she has described as follows:
{{blockquote|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.|author=|title=|source=}}
McLachlin has argued that courts may be justified in changing the law where such a change would accord with changes in society's values.{{Cite web|last1=Makin|first1=Kirk|last2=Yarhi|first2=Eli|date=July 3, 2018|title=Beverley McLachlin|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/beverley-mclachlin|access-date=2020-12-15|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|archive-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007065929/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/beverley-mclachlin|url-status=live}} She regards Edwards v Canada (Attorney General), in which the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council found that women were entitled to sit in the Senate of Canada, as a paradigm case in Canadian law.{{Cite web|last=Cruickshank|first=Ainslie|date=2016-02-15|title=Scalia's judicial philosophy in sharp contrast to SCC|url=https://ipolitics.ca/2016/02/15/scalias-judicial-philosophy-in-sharp-contrast-to-scc/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813005345/http://ipolitics.ca/2016/02/15/scalias-judicial-philosophy-in-sharp-contrast-to-scc/|archive-date=August 13, 2020|access-date=2020-12-15|website=iPolitics|language=en-US}} She has stated "courts are the ultimate guardians of the rights of society, in our system of government."{{cite journal|last1=Barak|first1=Aharon|author-link=Aharon Barak|date=November 2002|title=A Judge on Judging: The Role of a Supreme Court in a Democracy|url=https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4694&context=fss_papers|journal=Harvard Law Review|volume=116|issue=1|page=42|access-date=December 15, 2020|archive-date=July 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709033441/https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4694&context=fss_papers|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last1=McLachlin|first1=Beverley|year=1990|title=The Role of the Court in the Post-Charter Era: Policy-Maker or Adjudicator?|url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/unblj/article/view/29769|journal=University of New Brunswick Law Journal|volume=39|page=57}} She has also stated, "I think the court belongs to the Canadian people and it should reflect the Canadian people."
McLachlin has defended the view that "legal certainty"—the notion that there is one correct answer to a legal question, which judges can discover with diligence—is a "myth".{{Cite journal|last=Bell|first=Evan|date=March 2012|title=Reflecting on the judicial role: how valid is the analogy that 'judges are like umpires'?|journal=Commonwealth Law Bulletin|language=en|volume=38|issue=1|pages=3–29|doi=10.1080/03050718.2012.646732|issn=0305-0718|quote=Chief Justice McLachlin of Canada has referred to 'the myth of legal certainty'. This, she describes, is the myth that, if the judges look hard enough, long enough and wisely enough, they will find in the law the single clear answer to a question.|s2cid=145465046}}{{cite speech|last1=McLachlin|first1=Beverley|title=Judging in a Democratic State|date=June 3, 2004|url=https://www.scc-csc.ca/judges-juges/spe-dis/bm-2004-06-03-eng.aspx|access-date=December 15, 2020|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023091409/https://scc-csc.ca/judges-juges/spe-dis/bm-2004-06-03-eng.aspx|url-status=live}}
Mahmud Jamal, now a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, has argued that McLachlin's jurisprudence on the law of federalism is consistent with her "self-described judicial philosophy", namely that judges are to be "scrupulously non-partisan and impartial".{{cite journal|last1=Jamal|first1=Mahmud|year=2019|title=Chief Justice McLachlin and the Division of Powers|url=https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1372&context=sclr|journal=Supreme Court Law Review|volume=88|page=342|id=88 SCLR (2d) 241; [https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2019CanLIIDocs4066 2019 CanLIIDocs 4066]|access-date=December 15, 2020|archive-date=December 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216030603/https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1372&context=sclr|url-status=live}}
Honours and awards
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Beverley Marian McLachlin Escutcheon.png
|escutcheon = Per fess Gules and Argent four pallets counterchanged overall a bezant charged with a balance Sable within a bordure compony Argent and Gules on a chief Or a pen nib between two lyres Sable.
|crest = A great horned owl Proper perched on a pair of pincers fesswise Or set on a hockey stick Proper.
|supporters = Two Labrador retrievers Sable each gorged of a collar compony Argent and Sable pendent therefrom a closed book Or charged with a livestock brand composed of the letter E and the letter G contourné both ensigned by a quarter arc embowed Gules and standing on a rocky mount set with Pacific dogwood flowers and pine trees Proper all above barry wavy Argent and Gules.
|motto = Wisdom Compassion Justice{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/2858 |title=Beverley Marian McLachlin |publisher=Canadian Heraldic Authority |accessdate=11 March 2022}}}}
McLachlin was made a commander of the Legion of Honour by the government of France in 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.gazette.gc.ca/archives/p1/2007/2007-11-24/pdf/g1-14147.pdf|title=Canada Gazette Part I|volume=141|website=Gazette.gc.ca|issue=47|access-date=2016-02-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522213038/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/archives/p1/2007/2007-11-24/pdf/g1-14147.pdf|archive-date=May 22, 2013|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ambafrance-ca.org/spip.php?article1876&var_recherche=Beverley%20McLachlin|title=La France décore la Juge en chef du Canada|work=La France au Canada/France in Canada|access-date=September 8, 2008|archive-date=May 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521102834/http://www.ambafrance-ca.org/spip.php?article1876&var_recherche=Beverley%20McLachlin|url-status=live}} On December 15, 2006, she was appointed a commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John.{{cite web|url=http://www.gazette.gc.ca/archives/p1/2007/2007-04-28/pdf/g1-14117.pdf|title=Canada Gazette Part I|volume=141|website=Gazette.gc.ca|issue=17|access-date=2016-02-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522213631/http://www.gazette.gc.ca/archives/p1/2007/2007-04-28/pdf/g1-14117.pdf|archive-date=May 22, 2013|df=mdy-all}}
She was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2018, having demonstrated the highest degree of merit to Canada and humanity. Up to 15 Companions are appointed annually, with an imposed limit of 180 living Companions at any given time.
She has been awarded with over 31 honorary degrees from various universities, which include:
=Memberships and fellowships=
McLachlin is the honorary patron of the Institute of Parliamentary and Political Law.
| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Country ! style="width:20%;"| Date ! style="width:40%;"| Organisation ! style="width:20%;"| Position | |||
| {{Flagu|Canada}}
|March 2011 | |||
| {{Flagu|United States of America}} | American College of Trial Lawyers | Honorary Fellow{{Cite web|title=Honorary Fellows|url=https://www.actl.com/about-actl/leadership/honorary-fellows|access-date=2020-12-16|publisher=American College of Trial Lawyers|archive-date=August 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809143617/https://www.actl.com/about-actl/leadership/honorary-fellows|url-status=live}} |
Other publications
- {{cite book|last1=McLachlin |first1=Beverley M.|last2=Wallace|first2=Wilfred J.|date=1987|title=The Canadian Law of Architecture and Engineering|location=Toronto|publisher=Butterworths|isbn=978-0-433-39160-9}}
- {{cite journal|last1=McLachlin|first1=Beverley|title=Judging the 'Vanishing Trial' in the Construction Industry|journal=Construction Law International|date=June 2010|volume=5|issue=2|pages=9–14|url=https://www.ibanet.org/Article/NewDetail.aspx?ArticleUid=0F16729B-4E6E-433D-A94C-2F35EA7273A1}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite journal|author-last=Erb|author-first=Marsha C.|journal=Judicature|title=A Remarkable Journey to the 'Centre Chair'|date=Summer 2020|volume=104|number=2|url=https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/a-remarkable-journey-to-the-centre-chair/|access-date=March 9, 2021|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309201753/https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/a-remarkable-journey-to-the-centre-chair/|url-status=live}}
- {{Cite web |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/beverley-mclachlin-profile/article37588525/ |title=How Beverley McLachlin found her bliss: Where she came from and what she leaves behind |last=Fine |first=Sean |date=12 January 2018 |publisher=The Globe and Mail |access-date=12 July 2021 |quote=Sean Fine talks to the recently retired Supreme Court chief justice, and weighs the impact of the legal architecture she helped set in place}}
- {{cite book |last1=Greene |first1=Ian |last2=McCormick |first2=Peter |title=Beverley McLachlin: The Legacy of a Supreme Court Chief Justice |date=2019 |publisher=Lorimer |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-4594-1440-2 |language=English}}
- {{cite book |editor1-last=Gruben |editor1-first=Vanessa |editor2-last=Mayeda |editor2-first=Graham |editor3-last=Rees |editor3-first=Owen |title=Controversies in the Common Law: Tracing the Contributions of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin |date=2022 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4875-4074-6 |language=en}}
- {{cite book |editor1-last=Moore |editor1-first=Marcus |editor2-last=Jutras |editor2-first=Daniel |title=Canada's Chief Justice: Beverley McLachlin's legacy of law and leadership |date=2018 |publisher=LexisNexis Canada |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-433-49911-4}}
- {{Cite book|chapter=Beverley McLachlin|last1=Smith|first1=C. Lynn|pages=159–170|editor-last1=Salokar|editor-first1=Rebecca Mae|editor-last2=Volcansek|editor-first2=Mary L.|url=https://archive.org/details/womeninlawbiobib0000unse|url-access=registration|title=Women in Law: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-1-4294-7634-8|oclc=70764020}}
{{refend}}
External links
- {{CanadaSupremeCourtbio|beverley-mclachlin}}
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