The Hon. Horace Krever

Justice Horace Krever provides a comprehensive account of his relationship with Bora Laskin, beginning as Laskin’s student at the University of Toronto Law School from 1951-1954 and continuing through their professional association until Laskin’s death. Krever describes Laskin as an influential teacher who taught real property, constitutional law, and labour law using the case method, though not the strict Socratic approach. He details the small, intimate law school environment with only ten graduates in Krever’s class and a faculty that included distinguished academics like Caesar Wright and John Willis.

The interview reveals significant insights into legal education reform in Ontario during the 1940s-1960s, particularly the conflict between the Law Society of Upper Canada and university-based legal education. Krever explains how a controversial 1949 Benchers’ report led Wright, Laskin, and Willis to leave Osgoode Hall Law School to establish the university-based program at U of T. He provides detailed correspondence showing how he later obtained this suppressed report for Laskin when he became a Bencher himself.

Krever offers unique perspectives on Laskin’s judicial appointments, describing his role in facilitating communication between government officials and Laskin during his 1965 Court of Appeal appointment. He discusses the challenges Laskin faced as the first academic and second Jewish judge appointed to Ontario’s appellate court, noting some initial resentment from colleagues. The interview concludes with observations about Laskin’s judicial writing style, which Krever characterizes as dense but principled, and his admiration for Justice Ivan Rand’s constitutional law philosophy.

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