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Memoirs and Reflections

2013

by The Hon. R. Roy McMurtry, published with the University of Toronto Press.

In addition to his most important accomplishment, the founding of the Osgoode Society, Roy McMurtry recounts and reflects on his years as a criminal defence lawyer, attorney-general of Ontario, High Commissioner to the UK, and Chief Justice of Ontario. Along the way we are given insights into the patriation of the Constitution, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the Dubin Inquiry, and many other events. This book is a great read, a modern legal history of Canada and Ontario, and a tale of a life well lived.

Reviews of Memoirs and Reflections

Memoirs and Reflections is a reader’s delight. It tells the story of a remarkable man who, despite his major achievements in politics and the law, remained humble and compassionate…. McMurtry’s style is strong, elegant and balanced to match a public and private life that cannot fail to fascinate and impress. Jane Ekstram, British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol 28, 2015
Memoirs and Reflections is a book and a half. It is both a chronicle of our times and a deeply personal account of Roy McMurtry's incredibly active and diverse life. I could not put it down.... Reading Memoirs and Reflections is not merely a pleasure, it is an exercise in admiration.  For a story of a man of compulsive decency, ... read this book and revel in the company of Roy McMurtry. Justice Nancy Backhouse, Advocates' Journal, Vol 32, 2014.
Retired Chief Justice Roy McMurtry has just written a fascinating autobiography .... McMurtry's successful careers in law, politics, diplomacy and as a judge are well known .... [T]his book provides a unique insight by McMurtry himself into the events that shaped his career.... Chief Justice Roy McMurtry has made an enormous contribution to legal and political life in Canada. In this fascinating book he shares personal details about his life and leadership on so many issues that we take for granted today. Greg Mulligan,  Superior Court Judges Newsletter, Fall 2013.
Reviews of Memoirs and Reflections have also appeared in the following places: Jon Silver, Osgoode Hall Law Journal, vol 51, 2014, pp. 731-733

Reviews have also appeared in the following publications:

  • Ryan Alford, Ontario History, Vol 108, 2016, pp. 255-257
  • Jon Silver, Osgoode Hall Law Journal, vol 51, 2014, pp. 731-733

The Honourable R. Roy McMurtry

R. Roy McMurtry,1932-2024, was the former chief justice of Ontario (1996-2007) and Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom (1985-1988). He is counsel at Gowlings. He was first elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1975 after practicing as a trial lawyer for 17 years, and served as attorney-general under Premier William Davis. Mr. McMurtry founded… Read more »

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Contents:

Contents

FOREWORD xi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xiii

Part One: Getting Established

1 The McMurtry Family Tree 3

2 School and Sports 17

3 Student Days at the University of Toronto 31

4 Preparing for a Career in Law at Osgoode Hall 48

5 Articling Student 61

Part Two: The Practice of Law

6 Early Law Career 73

7 Mentor, Arthur Maloney 89

8 Entering the Political Arena 117

9 Family Life 135

10 Member of the Kitchen Cabinet 145

11 The By-election, Community Service, and the Law 156

Part Three: Attorney General of Ontario

12 Stepping in the Attorney General’s Role 175

13 Cabinet Minister with a Law Reform Agenda 193

14 Attorney General versus the National Hockey League 213
15 Racism and Religion 227

16 Violence on the Highways, on the Newsstands, and as Entertainment 244

17 A Mixture of Challenges Involving Marijauna, Ed Ziemba, Francis Fox, and Amway Corporation 250

18 The Osgoode Society for the Writing of Canadian Legal History 262

19 Solicitor General and the Mississauga Derailment 268

20 The Challenging Cases of Susan Nelles and Henry Morgantaler 278

21 The Constitution and the Patriation Case in the Supreme Court of Canada 290

22 Negotiations over the Patriation of the Canadian Constitution 308

23 René Levesque 322

24 Israel 329

25 Travel Abroad to India and Pakistan 336

26 Northern Justice, Aboriginal Art, and My Own Painting 345

27 Reflections on the Davis Government and Life as a Constituency Politician 354

28 Candidate for the Leadership of the PC Party of Ontario 365

Part Four: At the Court of St. James and Home Again

29 My New Life as High Commissioner in London 381

30 The High Commissioner’s Work 398

31 My Years with Blaney, McMurtry, and the Canadian Football League 418

32 Sport as a Development Tool in the Commonwealth 434

Part Five: Sixteen Years as a Judge

33 Appointment to the Bench, 1991 443

34 Chief Justice of Ontario 455

35 The Role of Judges in Relation to the Rule of Law, Independence, and the Charter of Rights 478

36 Visits of Cuba 489

Part Six: Retirement

37 Life after Judicial Retirement 499

38 Reflections on My Life 523

INDEX 535