The Hon. Janet Boland

This extensive oral history captures the career of Janet Boland, who was appointed to the Ontario Supreme Court in 1976 and was the first woman judge appointed to the County Court in York County. Born in Kitchener in 1923, she attended Osgoode Hall Law School (1947-1950) during the post-war period when her class of 500 was predominantly servicemen. Her articling experience at Blake, Cassels and later at Beaton, Bell & Leek provided excellent training in real estate and commercial law.

Boland’s practice began as a sole practitioner working from home while raising three sons, handling real estate transactions and title searches. She later joined White, Bristol, Beck and Phipps as a solicitor, working on shopping centre leases for clients including the Bronfman properties. Her move to Lang, Michener in the late 1960s as a partner preceded her judicial appointment in 1972 to the County Court and elevation to the Supreme Court of Ontario in 1976.

As a judge, Boland specialized initially in family law before moving to civil and criminal cases on the circuit. The interview includes detailed discussion of significant cases including Courtot Investments v. Royal Trust Company (contract law), Spillane v. Wasserman (medical malpractice and motor vehicle accident), Cooper v. LeRoy (head injury assessment), and several criminal matters including R. v. Brian Kavanagh (domestic murder) and the Bronko Skerl stalking murder case. Her experiences reflect the challenges faced by women entering the legal profession in the 1950s and the evolution of Canadian courts through major reform periods.

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