Brian Dickson

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For those of a similar name, see Brian Dixon (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable Brian Dickson PC, CC, CD

15th Chief Justice of Canada
In office April 18, 1984 – June 30, 1990
Nominated by	Pierre Trudeau
Appointed by	Edward Schreyer
Preceded by	Bora Laskin
Succeeded by	Antonio Lamer
Puisne Justice
In office March 26, 1973 – April 18, 1984
Nominated by	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Douglas Abbott/Emmett Hall/Bora Laskin
Succeeded by	Gerald Le Dain
Personal details
Born	Robert George Brian Dickson (1916-05-25)May 25, 1916 Yorkton, Saskatchewan
Died	October 17, 1998(1998-10-17) (aged 82) Ottawa, Ontario

Robert George Brian Dickson, PC CC CD (May 25, 1916 – October 17, 1998), commonly known as Brian Dickson, was appointed the 15th Chief Justice of Canada on April 18, 1984. He retired on June 30, 1990 and died October 17, 1998.^[1]

Career

Dickson was born to Thomas Dickson and Sarah Elizabeth Gibson, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, in 1916. Thus his later childhood and young adulthood occurred during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years.

The family moved to Winnipeg, where Dickson attended the University of Manitoba after graduating from Ridley College in 1934. As a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity, he graduated with an LL.B in 1938. His first permanent job was with the Great-West Life Assurance Company.

Dickson was called to the bar in 1940, during the Second World War. He subsequently enlisted in the armed forces and served overseas. In August 1944, during a battle near Falaise, Dickson's right leg was hit by friendly fire and had to be amputated.^[1]

Upon his return to Winnipeg in 1945, Dickson joined the law firm of Aikins, Loftus, MacAulay, Turner, Thompson & Tritschler and became a successful corporate lawyer. He also lectured at the Faculty of Law of the University of Manitoba for six years, until 1954.

In 1963 he was appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba and in 1967 was elevated to the Manitoba Court of Appeal. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on March 26, 1973. On April 18, 1984, he was elevated to Chief Justice over the more senior Roland Ritchie. He served on the Supreme Court for 17 years before retiring on June 30, 1990.^[1] He died on October 17, 1998, at the age of 82.

Honours

In 1990 Chief Justice Dickson was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

The library of the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law is named for him. It contains many of his papers and personal effects.^[2]

Judgments

During his early years on the Supreme Court, Dickson was typically known for siding with the opinions of Laskin and Spence, creating a voting bloc that has been known as the "L-S-D connection". ^{[citation needed]}

Having come from a corporate law background, Dickson often contributed to the judgements in that field. With the introduction of the Charter in 1982, he made many major contributions to the early standards of interpretation. Among his most famous decisions was that of R. v. Oakes where he first proposed the Oakes test; furthermore, in R. v. Big M Drug Mart he gave a broad interpretation to finding Charter infringement, and in R. v. Morgentaler he found that the prohibition of abortion violated a woman's security of person.

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Robert George Brian Dickson". Supreme Court. Government of Canada. 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
↑ "Brian Dickson Law Library". University of Ottawa. 2009-02-23. Retrieved 2009-05-10.

External links

v t e Chief Justices of Canada

Richards Ritchie Strong H. E. Taschereau Fitzpatrick Davies Anglin Duff Rinfret Kerwin R. Taschereau Cartwright Fauteux Laskin Dickson Lamer McLachlin

v t e The Laskin court (1973–1984)

1973–1977	R. Martland W. Judson R. Ritchie W.F. Spence L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz L.P. de Grandpré

1977–1978	R. Martland R. Ritchie W.F. Spence L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey Y. Pratte

Jan. 1979 – Sept. 1979	R. Martland R. Ritchie L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey Y. Pratte W.R. McIntyre

Sept. 1979 – 1980	R. Martland R. Ritchie L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard

1980–1982	R. Martland R. Ritchie B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard A. Lamer

1982–1984	R. Ritchie B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard A. Lamer B. Wilson

v t e The Dickson court (1984–1990)

1984–1985:	R. Ritchie J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard A. Lamer B. Wilson G. Le Dain

1985–1987:	J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard A. Lamer B. Wilson G. Le Dain G. La Forest

1987–May 1988:	J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre A. Lamer B. Wilson G. Le Dain G. La Forest C. L'Heureux-Dubé

May 1988–Nov. 1988:	J. Beetz W.R. McIntyre A. Lamer B. Wilson G. Le Dain G. La Forest C. L'Heureux-Dubé J. Sopinka

Nov. 1988–1989:	W.R. McIntyre A. Lamer B. Wilson G. La Forest C. L'Heureux-Dubé J. Sopinka C. Gonthier P. Cory

1989–1990:	A. Lamer B. Wilson G. La Forest C. L'Heureux-Dubé J. Sopinka C. Gonthier P. Cory B. McLachlin

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 15848524 LCCN: n84239337 ISNI: 0000 0000 7984 525X GND: 129443875

Persondata
Name	Dickson, Brian
Alternative names
Short description	Canadian judge
Date of birth	May 25, 1916
Place of birth	Yorkton, Saskatchewan
Date of death	October 17, 1998
Place of death	Ottawa, Ontario

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