LogoutMr. Allan Shipley
Allan Quinney Shipley worked as a senior policy lawyer in the Ministry of Attorney General’s Policy Branch from 1974 to 1998, spanning the tenures of multiple Attorneys General including Roy McMurtry, Ian Scott, Marion Boyd, and Charles Harnick. Born in Toronto in 1945, Shipley was educated at McGill University and the University of London before attending Osgoode Hall Law School, where he was influenced by Paul Copeland and participated in the pioneering Parkdale Community Legal Services program.
Shipley’s career focused on major legislative reforms, particularly in family and children’s law. He played key roles in developing the Children’s Law Reform Act, implementing the Young Offenders Act, reforming limitations legislation, and working on custody and access law reform. His expertise led to international work including contributions to the UN Convention on Rights of the Child and an exchange position with the Australian Attorney General’s Department. Shipley witnessed and contributed to the evolution of the Policy Branch from a small collaborative unit of 3 lawyers reporting directly to the Deputy Attorney General to a larger organization of 20 lawyers before its eventual decline in status and influence during government restructuring in the 1990s.
This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.
References
The following are a selection of topics discussed in this oral history.
- Court of Appeal
- District Court
- Divisional Court
- Family Court
- Provincial Courts
- Superior Court of Justice
- Supreme Court of Canada
- Dalhousie
- McGill University
- Osgoode Hall Law School
- University of London School of Oriental and African Studies
- University of Western Ontario
- Windsor
- Australian Attorney General's Department
- Cabinet
- Crown Law Office
- Legislative Assembly
- Ministry of Attorney General of Ontario
- Ministry of Community and Social Services
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of the Solicitor General
- Ontario Law Reform Commission
- Policy Branch
- United Nations
- 1975 election
- 1983 election
- 1985 election
- Australian bicentennial 1987-88
- establishment of Parkdale Community Legal Services
- Expo 67
- International Year of the Child 1979
- Red Tape Government Efficiency Bills
- UN Convention on Rights of the Child adoption 1989
- Young Offenders Act Implementation
- Alberta
- Australia
- British Columbia
- Canada
- Finland
- Geneva
- Manitoba
- New Zealand
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- United States
- Clay Ruby's firm
- McMillan Binch
- Askov decision
- Murdoch decision
- Re: Debassige
- Ministry of the Attorney General
- Allan Quinney Shipley
- Archie Campbell
- Barbara Landau
- Charles Harnick
- Clay Ruby
- Ed Belobaba
- George Thomson
- Howard Hampton
- Ian Scott
- John McCamus
- Karen Weiler
- Larry Taman
- Marc Rosenberg
- Marion Boyd
- Marshall Pollock
- Paul Copeland
- Premier Davis
- Premier Harris
- Premier Rae
- Roy McMurtry
- Tony Doob
- Canadian Bar Association
- Insurance Bureau of Canada
- Law Society
- Ontario Bar Association
- Society of Ontario Adjudicators & Regulators
- Uniform Law Conference of Canada
- 1960s
- 1970s
- 1980s
- 1990s
- Administrative Law
- Child Support
- Child Welfare Law
- children's law reform
- conflict of interest legislation
- Construction Liens
- Custody and Access
- Family Law Reform
- Freedom of Information Act
- Hague Convention
- Human Rights Law
- Limitations Law
- Provincial Offences Act
- Statutory Powers Procedure Act
- surrogate parenthood
- vandalism
- Young Offenders Act
Some of these references were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Archive Details
File consists of oral history records documenting the life and career of Allan Shipley (b. 1945), Children's Law Specialist in the Policy Branch. Interview topics include: early education and career; call to the bar, 1976; first employment, Ministry of Attorney General; role of Policy Branch; ADAGs in charge of policy; Policy Branch culture; Attorney Generals served; Deputy Attorneys General; Children's Law Reform Act; Young Offenders Act implementation (Ontario); Family Law; reform of law of child support under federal Divorce Act; Change of Name Act; Freedom of Information Act; Staturtory Powers Procedure Act; work at OHIP-Kingston, secondment (1998- 2001). Interview conducted by Cynthia Smith. File includes six audio cassette recordings from a series of two interviews, a transcript with index (171 p.), and a copy of a release form.