The Hon. Samuel Hughes

This oral history interview with Mr. Justice Samuel Harvey Shirecliffe Hughes provides a comprehensive overview of his distinguished legal and judicial career. Born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1913, Hughes came from a prominent military family – his grandfather Sam Hughes was Minister of Militia and Defence, and his father Garnet Hughes became a Major General in WWI. After early education in England during the war years, Hughes returned to Canada in 1928 and eventually pursued law at the University of Toronto.

Hughes’ career was marked by significant involvement in major Royal Commissions and landmark legal cases. His most notable work included chairing the Atlantic Acceptance Royal Commission (1965-1970), investigating Canada’s largest commercial failure at the time involving $130 million in losses through a complex international fraud scheme. He also served on the Waste Management Royal Commission (1977-1978) and chaired important committees evaluating the Law Reform Commission’s proposed Evidence Code in 1975, which he strongly opposed for its excessive judicial discretion provisions.

As a judge on the Supreme Court of Ontario, Hughes presided over numerous significant cases including the landmark Nicholson case on administrative fairness, the massive Oakville Storage railway fire case (95+ days of trial), and various complex civil and administrative law matters. His later career included chairing Electoral Boundaries Commissions for Ontario (1983-84 provincial, 1986-87 federal), conducting extensive public hearings across the province. Hughes transitioned to supernumerary status in 1978 and retired in 1988 at age 75, reflecting positively on his judicial career and expressing satisfaction with his choice of law as a profession.

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