The Right Hon. Antonio Lamer

This comprehensive oral history interview covers Chief Justice Antonio Lamer’s remarkable career from his family’s 300-year history in Canada to his tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Lamer traces his ancestry back to 1668 when his ancestor Jean de Rapidieu de Lesignac arrived from France as a military officer, explaining how the family name evolved to ‘Lamer’ (meaning ‘the sea’). He discusses his upbringing in Montreal’s east end, his father’s career as a lawyer for the Montreal Police, and his education at Catholic boarding schools.

Lamer’s judicial career began in 1969 when he was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court during the turbulent FLQ crisis period, where he handled over 1,500 criminal cases and managed contentious proceedings arising from the October Crisis of 1970. He served as Vice-Chair and later Chair of the Law Reform Commission of Canada for seven years, working on criminal law reform and evidence codes. After serving on the Quebec Court of Appeal from 1978-1980, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in March 1980.

The interview extensively covers Lamer’s judicial philosophy and landmark cases, including his work on Charter rights, criminal procedure, and constitutional law. He discusses major cases such as the Harper/Bartle/Prosper trilogy on right to counsel, the Swain case on criminal insanity defenses, the Ontario Hydro jurisdictional case, and various other significant decisions involving Aboriginal rights, language rights, and procedural fairness. His contributions to Canadian jurisprudence include establishing duty counsel systems and developing important precedents in evidence law and Charter interpretation.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.