| E. F. Anthony (Tony) Merchant, Q.C. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yorkton, Saskatchewan |
| Occupation | Lawyer, former politician |
E.F. Anthony "Tony" Merchant, Q.C. (born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan) is a Saskatchewan lawyer and former politician. He represented Regina Wascana in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a Liberal member.
He was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in 1944, the son of Captain Evatt Francis Anthony Merchant and Sally Smith. Merchant studied at the University of Saskatchewan. He was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar in 1968, to the Alberta bar in 1976, to the British Columbia bar in 1977 and to the Arizona bar in 1987. He was also host for an open-line radio show in Saskatchewan and a freelance television interviewer. In 1976, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the leadership of the provincial Liberal party, losing to Ted Malone.[1] Merchant ran unsuccessfully for the federal seat in Regina East in 1979 and 1980.
He was named a Queen's Counsel in 1996. Merchant served as a Lieutenant in the naval reserve. Merchant also serves as Austrian Consul for Saskatchewan. He is senior counsel at Merchant Law Group LLP, which has offices across Canada including in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. Several of the largest lawsuits in Canadian history have originated from Merchant Law Group LLP's offices. Multi-Billion dollar class action lawsuits concerning Celebrex/Bextra, Vioxx, 911 Fees, defective automobiles, and shareholder class actions.[2] Merchant's law firm had major involvement in the residential school lawsuits.
Despite his professional success, Mr. Merchant has had some problems with the Law Society: in the spring of 2009, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal confirmed a decision of the Law Society imposing a fourteen-day suspension for two counts of conduct unbecoming a member.[3] The Supreme Court of Canada denied a motion for leave to appeal.[4]
His wife Pana is a member of the Senate of Canada.