Justice Sandra Chapnik

This oral history interview features the Honourable Sandra Chapnik, a retired Ontario Superior Court judge, in conversation with her granddaughter, law student Lily Chapnik Rosenthal. Born in 1941 to Russian immigrant parents, Chapnik describes her family upbringing emphasizing the paramount importance of family bonds, values that would guide her throughout her career. After completing her undergraduate degree at University of Toronto and working as a high school teacher while supporting her husband through medical school, she entered Osgoode Hall Law School in 1973 as one of the first mature students, juggling law school with raising four young children.

Chapnik articled at Goodman and Carr before establishing her practice, initially with Leonard Banks doing entertainment law and later focusing on family law and litigation. Her extensive tribunal experience included serving on the Rent Review Commission, Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal, and Education Relations Commission, which provided crucial adjudicative training for her eventual judicial appointment. Active in legal organizations including the Law Society as a bencher, the Ontario Bar Association, and the Women’s Law Association (where she served as president), she also established bursaries and awards to support mature law students.

Appointed to the Superior Court of Ontario by Justice Minister Kim Campbell in 1991, Judge Chapnik served for 24 years until mandatory retirement at age 75. Her notable cases include landmark decisions in child protection summary judgment procedures (Catholic Children’s Aid Society v. L.O.), employment fiduciary duty law (SureGrip Fasteners v. Allgrade Bolt and Chain), vicarious liability for police sexual assault (Evans and Sproule), and settlement enforcement (Cellular Rental Systems v Bell Mobility). She also presided over Canada’s first electronic courtroom trial in a complex tax fraud case. Throughout her career, she emphasized community service, serving on boards of Holy Blossom Temple and Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, and was later recognized with the Order of Ontario. The interview provides exceptional insight into the challenges faced by women in law during the 1970s-1990s and offers valuable perspective on balancing professional achievement with family responsibilities.

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