What is the Legacy of the Charter and the Chief Justice Who Presided Over its First Decade? Chief Justice Lamer to Contextualize Osgoode Hall Law School Lecture by Justice Robert Sharpe on the Constitutional Legacy of the Late Chief Justice Brian Dickson

TORONTO, September 20, 1999 -- The late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Brian Dickson, presided over the nation's highest court from 1984-1990, a pivotal time in Canadian history when the fledgling Charter of Rights and Freedoms was transforming the court's role in shaping the laws of the land.

York University's Osgoode Hall Law School will revisit those pathfinding days of the high court on Wed., Sept. 22, when the Hon. Mr. Justice Robert Sharpe of the Ontario Court of Appeal delivers the third Pierre Genest Memorial Lecture on The Constitutional Legacy of Chief Justice Brian Dickson. The Rt. Hon. Antonio Lamer, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, will set the stage for Justice Sharpe's lecture with introductory comments recalling Chief Justice Dickson's role and contribution to the court.

Under the leadership of Chief Justice Lamer since 1990, the Supreme Court has continued to attract both public ire and praise for Charter rulings on issues ranging from Quebec's right to secede, to the rights of suspects under criminal investigation, to gay rights and procedures for immigration hearings. But it was in the 1980s, under Chief Justice Dickson, that the court overturned Quebec laws restricting the use of English, and upheld the rights of Francophones in Alberta to be educated in French. Other controversial decisions under his watch upheld native treaty rights, overturned a ban on Sunday shopping, and ruled that a national law on abortion was a violation of women's rights.

Ontario Appeal Court Justice Robert Sharpe brings a wealth of legal wisdom and experience to this subject. He is author of The Law of Habeas Corpus (2nd ed., 1989); The Last Day, The Last Hour: The Currie Libel Trial (1988); Injunctions and Specific Performance (2nd ed., 1992) and with Katherine Swinton The Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1998). Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto, and Executive Legal Officer at the Supreme Court of Canada. He has appeared as counsel in courts at all levels in both civil and criminal proceedings.

The Pierre Genest Memorial Fund was created to honour the memory of Pierre Genest, who graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1954 and became one of the finest counsel in Canada. He died in 1989. The fund endows an annual lecture on the theme of understanding Canada's bilingual and bicultural character. This third lecture is open to the public, and will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the Moot Court Room at Osgoode Hall Law School, Keele Campus, 4700 Keele Street.

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For further information, please contact:

Prof. Patrick Monahan
Osgoode Hall Law School
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 55568
pmonahan@yorku.ca

Joanne Rappaport
Osgoode Hall Law School
York University
(416) 736-5515
joanner@yorku.ca

Susan Bigelow
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22091
sbigelow@yorku.ca
YU/092/99