Thomas Rodney Berger, OC, OBC (born March 23, 1933) is a Canadian politician and jurist of Swedish descent. Berger was the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party for most of 1969, prior to Dave Barrett. Justice Berger may be best known for his work as the Royal Commissioner of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry which released its findings in 1977.
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Born in Victoria, British Columbia he is the son of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer Theodor Berger, and, his wife, Perle, née McDonald. Theodor Berger was the son of Ivar Theodor Berger (1861–1937), a police judge in Gothenburg, Sweden, and his wife, née Baroness Hedvig Taube af Odenkat, a member of the Swedish nobility.
Thomas R. Berger was elected, at the age of 29, to the House of Commons in the 1962 election, representing the riding of Vancouver—Burrard for the New Democratic Party. However, in the 1963 election, he was defeated by Liberal opponent Ron Basford.
He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 1966 BC election. Described as a "Young Turk" and "young man in a hurry", Berger challenged long-time BC CCF/NDP leader Robert Strachan for the party leadership in 1967. Strachan defeated Berger but, sensing the winds of change, resigned in 1969. Berger defeated another young MLA, Dave Barrett to win the leadership convention and was widely expected to lead the NDP to its first ever general election victory. Social Credit Premier W.A.C. Bennett called an early snap election and, instead of victory, Berger's NDP lost four seats. He quickly resigned and was succeeded by Dave Barrett.[1]
Appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 1972, he served on the bench until 1983. Berger has worked extremely hard to ensure that industrial development on Aboriginal people's land resulted in benefits to those indigenous people. He may be best known for his work as the Royal Commissioner of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry which released its findings 9 May 1977.[2][3]
Berger was appointed chair of the Vancouver Election Commission in 2003, and led several public meetings on electoral reform in the early months of 2004. The Commission recommended changing Vancouver's at-large system of representation with individual wards; however, this recommendation was defeated in a referendum held on October 16, 2004.
Berger completed "The Nunavut Project" in 2006. This is a report of recommendations to implement Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (Inuit Employment within Government). This report was the result of being appointed conciliator in 2005 to resolve the impasse of the Government of Canada, Government of Nunavut and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated to update and amend the Nunavut Implementation Contract.
In 1989, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[4][5] He is a member of the Order of British Columbia. As of 2006 he sits on the advisory council of the Order of Canada, which researches the merits of future members of the Order and advises the Governor General of Canada on new appointments. He is an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada, student #S153.
Thomas Berger would contend that the reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples could be facilitated by the Canadian judicial system. In his discussion of Berger’s life, Swayze asserts that Berger “believes, and believes passionately, in the integrity of Canada’s system of equitable justice and its attendant jurisprudence.” Throughout his career, Berger dedicated his life to law and to politics. He is perhaps most notably recognized for his work on the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry and the subsequent publication of The Berger Report. As Commissioner, Berger recommended that, “on environmental grounds, no pipeline be built and no energy corridor be established across the Northern Yukon” and that any pipeline construction be postponed until native claims could be settled. Despite his belief in the judicial system, Berger acknowledged that there were certain issues that could be dealt with outside of the courts. For instance, as Commissioner for the Royal Commission on Family Law, he states: “The philosophy inherent in all thirteen of the commission’s reports is that legal sanctions should, in many cases, be a last resort, and to this end recommendations focused on the effective use of human rather than legislated solutions.”
One of Berger’s intellectual contributions is the idea that Canada’s relationship with Indigenous people can serve to strengthen the country instead of weakening it. For Berger, Canada is divided into two parts: Indigenous nations and everyone else. In his speech entitled, “My Idea of Canada,” he states: “I think diversity has become the essence of the Canadian experience and it is our strength. It’s not a weakness. We’re not addicted to bogus patriotism. We believe in diversity. We believe in being a good citizen of the world.” The plurality of the Canadian nation, Berger notes, sometimes makes Canada a difficult country to govern, however, he suggests that Canada “could be the prototype nation state of the 21st century in which a citizen’s identity does not have to be authenticated by a spurious nationalism.” In Fragile Freedoms, Berger calls for attention to be paid not only to the problems facing the developing world, but also to those nations within Canada that are suffering. Berger states that he believes “in the uses of democratic institutions …[as] the means to the dispersal of political and economic power. [Democratic institutions] will be strengthened by the Constitution and Charter which offer those who are under attack a place to stand, ground to defend, and the means for others to come to their aid.” Berger’s intellectual treatment of the legal system and its applications have enhanced the concepts of equality and rights for Indigenous people under Canadian law.
| Preceded by John Russell Taylor |
Member of Parliament for Vancouver—Burrard 1962-1963 |
Succeeded by Ron Basford |
| Preceded by Robert Strachan |
Leader of the Opposition in the British Columbia Legislature 1969 |
Succeeded by Dave Barrett |
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