Ontario Court of Appeal Justice James C. MacPherson to Lecture on Same Sex Marriage Ruling, Sept. 29
The Honourable Mr. Justice James C. MacPherson, one of the judges who presided over the landmark decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal finding that the prohibition of same sex marriage was unconstitutional, will be guest lecturer at the Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell Lectureship in Law on September 29.
His lecture, open to the public, is "The Same Sex Marriage Case - The Intersection of Law and Politics in Canada and the United States," and will be held in the Courtyard of the W.A. Murphy Student Centre at the UPEI campus starting at 7:30 pm. Following the speech, there will be an opportunity for questions. The lecture is sponsored by UPEI and the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island.
"We are delighted to have Justice James MacPherson deliver the Campbell Law Lecture," said UPEI President Wade MacLauchlan. "Justice MacPherson is one of Canada's leading jurists, and the opportunity to hear his personal reflections on the role of the courts in dealing with the constitutionality of Canada's marriage laws bears out the wisdom of the Law Foundation in establishing this lecture series."
In 1991, the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island created an endowment at UPEI to provide a stimulating series of lectures that were to be held throughout the province on a regular basis. The lecture series was named the Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell Lectureship in Law to honour the Rhodes Scholar, former Premier, and first Chancellor of UPEI.
The first lecture took place in 1993 and the series has continued over the years with guest speakers such as: Chief Justice Antonio Lamer, Justice Joseph Ghiz, Justice Gerard LaForest, Anne S. Derrick, Peter MacKinnon, Bruce H. Wildsmith and Ronalda Murphy.
"The Law Foundation is delighted to continue its support of the Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell Lectureship in Law," said Paul Kiley, Secretary-Treasurer of the Law Foundation. "We are very pleased to have Mr. Justice James C. MacPherson as this year's guest lecturer, in keeping with a tradition of very distinguished speakers throughout the history of the lecture series."
The Law Foundation is administered by a board consisting of four members of the Law Society of Prince Edward Island and a representative of the Attorney General. The Law Foundation's mandate includes the promotion and funding of legal education in Prince Edward Island.
Justice MacPherson, who is on sabbatical from the bench and is teaching at Dalhousie Law School, comes with an extensive background with degrees from Acadia University, BA'71, Dalhousie, LLB'74; and Cambridge University, LLM'76. He taught law at the University of Victoria from 1976-79 and was director of the constitutional branch of the Saskatchewan Department of Justice from 1982-85. From 1985-87 he served as an Executive Legal Officer at the Supreme Court of Canada, then from1988-93 he was Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School. He was named to the Ontario Superior Court in 1993 and to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1999.
For further information contact:
Alf Blanchard, UPEI Alumni Communications Officer at 566-0761 or alfblanchard@upei.ca
Paul Kiley, Secretary-Treasurer of the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island, 368-8473 or paul.kiley@mcinnescooper.com
