Brian Dickson

Not be confused with franco-ontarian poet Robert Dickson

The Right Honourable Robert George Brian Dickson, PC , CC , CD , LL.B , LL.D (May 25, 1916 – October 17, 1998), commonly known as Brian Dickson, was appointed Chief Justice of Canada on April 18, 1984. He retired on June 30, 1990.

Career

Dickson was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. He was the son of Thomas Dickson and Sarah Elizabeth Gibson. After his family moved to Winnipeg, he attended the University of Manitoba, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity, graduating with an LL.B in 1938. He worked for two years in the investment department of the Great-West Life Assurance Company selling insurance. He called to the bar in 1940, but subsenquently enlisted in the armed forces during the Second World War to served overseas. In August of 1944, during a battle near Falaise, Dickson was hit in the right leg by friendly fire and had to have it amputated.

Upon his return to Winnipeg in 1945, he joined the law firm of Aikins, Loftus, MacAulay, Turner, Thompson & Tritschler and became successful as a 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 four years later 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.

In 1990 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. Chief Justice Dickson died on October 17, 1998, at the age of 82.

Judgements

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, in R. v. Big M Drug Mart he gave a broad interpretation to finding Charter infringement, in R. v. Morgentaler he found that the prohibition of abortion to violate a womans security of person.

External links

Preceded by Bora Laskin	Chief Justice of Canada April 18, 1984 – June 30, 1990	Succeeded by Antonio Lamer

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v t e The Laskin court (1973–84)
December 1973	R. Martland W. Judson R. Ritchie W.F. Spence L. Pigeon B. Dickson
1974 – July 1977	R. Martland W. Judson R. Ritchie W.F. Spence L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz L.P. de Grandpré
July 1977 – October 1977	R. Martland R. Ritchie W.F. Spence L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz L.P. de Grandpré W.Z. Estey
October 1977 – 1978	R. Martland R. Ritchie W.F. Spence L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey Y. Pratte
Jan. 1979 – Sep. 1979	R. Martland R. Ritchie L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey Y. Pratte W.R. McIntyre
Sep. 1979 – 1980	R. Martland R. Ritchie L. Pigeon B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard
1980–82	R. Martland R. Ritchie B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard A. Lamer
1982–84	R. Ritchie B. Dickson J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard A. Lamer B. Wilson

v t e The Dickson court (1984–90)
1984–85:	R. Ritchie J. Beetz W.Z. Estey W.R. McIntyre J. Chouinard A. Lamer B. Wilson G. Le Dain
1985–87:	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
1989–90:	A. Lamer B. Wilson G. La Forest C. L'Heureux-Dubé J. Sopinka C. Gonthier P. Cory B. McLachlin