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3:15 P. Roy Thomson Hall 60 Simcoe Street Toronto, Ontario 1 THE LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA SPECIAL CONVOCATION TORONTO CALL 2 Thursday, February 25, 1999 - 3:15 p. Roy Thomson Hall 60 Simcoe Street Toronto, Ontario ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Opening Remarks - Treasurer . 3 National Anthem - Siobhan Dungan . 3 Citation - Philip M. Epstein, Q.C. 5 Remarks - Dr. Louise Arbour .6 Academic Awards .13 Presentation of Candidates for Call to the Bar, Admissions to the Degree of Barrister-at-law 14 Honour Song, Victory Song - Jimmy Dick 18 Oath of Allegiance . 22 Barristers Oath .23 Solicitors Oath .23 Remarks - The Honourable Madam Justice Heather J. Smith, Associate Chief Justice . 23 ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com February 25, 1999 Special Convocation - 3:15 p.m. 3 1 ---Upon commencing at 3:15 p.m. 2 THE TREASURER: Convocation will come to 3 order. I would ask you to remain standing while Siobhan 4 Dungan sings the National Anthem. 5 ---National Anthem 6 THE TREASURER: Please be seated. 7 My name is Harvey Strosberg, and I am the 8 Treasurer of the Law Society. The Treasurer is the 9 President. The Law Society of Upper Canada governs the 10 legal profession in Ontario in the public interest. The 11 directors of the Law Society are called Benchers and the 12 Director's meeting is called Convocation. Today the 13 Benchers of the Law Society have assembled in Convocation 14 to admit The Honourable Madame Justice Louise Arbour to the 15 agree of Doctor of Laws and also to call our candidates to 16 the Bar. Once those tasks are completed Convocation will 17 adjourn and Madame Justice Smith, the Associate Chief 18 Justice, will convene a special sitting of the Court of 19 Appeal for Ontario and the Ontario Court (General 20 Division), and the Oath of Allegiance, the Barristers Oath, 21 and the Solicitors Oath will be administered. 22 Before we go any further I would like to 23 introduce those on the stage. Madame Justice Louise 24 Arbour, our candidate. Please stand. Madame Justice 25 Smith; Mr. Justice Lissaman; Mr. Justice Zuraw; Hugette ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com February 25, 1999 Special Convocation - 3:15 p.m. 4 1 Malyon, who is the Registrar of the Ontario Court of 2 Appeal; Associate Dean Simon Fodden from the Osgoode Hall 3 Law School; Associate Dean Catherine Valcke from the 4 University of Toronto; Igor Ellyn, a representative of the 5 Canadian Bar Association of Ontario; James Howie, a 6 representative of the Metropolitan Toronto Lawyers' 7 Association; Jimmy Dick who is from Moose Factory and who 8 will be doing the Honour Song for us. Our Benchers, Nancy 9 Backhouse, Bill Carter, Phil Epstein, Mike Adams, Bob 10 Aaron, Nora Angeles, Heather Ross, Ab Chahbar, Don Lamont, 11 Derry Millar, The Honourable Sydney Robins, David Scott, 12 Gerry Swaye. Our staff, John Saso, Richard Tinsley, Bob 13 Bernhardt, Ian Lebane, Cindy Pinkus. I also want to make 14 special mention of Roman Woloszcuk and that wonderful woman 15 that was out here and asked you to stand, Patricia Gyulay 16 who organized this. Thank you. 17 You have been told that Convocation is a 18 formal affair. You have been told to hold your· applause. 19 You will in effect be told that spontaneity is inconsistent 20 with solemnity. Don't listen to any of that. Don't worry 21 about crying babies, don't worry about talking babies. This 22 is your day. We want you to enjoy yourself, take pictures, 23 cheer, do what will make you happy. This is one of the few 24 times in your life that you will be in a room in a theatre 25 where everyone is happy, and we want you to be happy. ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com February 25, 1999 Special Convocation - 3:15 p.m. 5 1 Mr. Epstein will you produce the candidate, 2 please. 3 MR. EPSTEIN: Associate Chief Justice Smith, 4 Treasurer, Your Honours, Distinguished Guests, Graduates, 5 Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my very great privilege to 6 introduce to you the Honourable Madame Justice Louise 7 Arbour and ask the Treasurer on behalf of the Law Society 8 of the Upper Canada to confer upon her the degree of Doctor 9 of Laws, honoris causa. 10 Madame Justice Louise Arbour is a graduate 11 of the University of Montreal. In 1970 she was Law Clerk 12 to Mr. Louis Phillippe Pigeon in the Supreme Court of 13 Canada. She later became a highly regarded professor of 14 criminal law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and 15 remained there until she accepted an appointment with the 16 then trial division of the Ontario Supreme Court in 1987. 17 In recognition of her obvious talents she was elevated to 18 the Ontario Court of Appeal in March of 1990, where she 19 served with distinction until October of 1996, when, in 20 what can only be described as an incredible act of courage 21 and determination, she took leave from Court of Appeal to 22 become Chief Prosecutor for the International War Crimes 23 Tribunal at the Hague. 24 A few short weeks ago our television screens 25 were filled with the image of Justice Arbour attempting to ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com February 25, 1999 Special Convocation - 3:15 p.m. 6 1 enter Kosovo to investigate a reported massacre of ethnic 2 Albanians. Since 1986 she has investigated some of 3 history's most horrific atrocities both in the former 4 Republic of Yugoslavia and in the Central African Republic 5 of Rawanda. She has had to deal with events that stagger 6 the imagination and would make us weep. Above all she has 7 salvaged the credibility of the War Crimes Tribunal and is 8 in her own special way moving the world ever closer to the 9 establishment of a permanent international criminal court. 10 The evidence of human barbarianism to which 11 Justice Arbour has become witness cannot be imagined. But 12 that she has preserved her dignity and composure and has 13 forcefully pursued her goals in spite of enormous 14 difficulties is a tribute to her courage. She is most 15 deserving of the honour of the degree of Doctor of Laws, 16 honoris causa. 17 THE TREASURER: On behalf of the Benchers of 18 the Law Society of Upper Canada, pursuant to the authority 19 vested in me, I admit you to the degree of Doctor of Laws, 20 honoris causa, with all the rights and privileges thereto 21 appertaining. Congratulations, Doctor. 22 DR. ARBOUR: Chief Justice, Mr. Treasurer, 23 Distinguished Members of the Bench and Bar, Graduates, 24 Colleagues and Friends, I have had up to now a truly 25 wonderful career with more than my fair share of ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com February 25, 1999 Special Convocation - 3:15 p.m. 7 1 challenges, opportunities and rewards. And yet I can tell 2 you with the utmost sincerity that I would happily give it 3 all up to be sitting in your place here today. I do not 4 think that there has ever been a better time to become a 5 lawyer. You have the privilege of having been nurtured in 6 an environment that is receptive of intellectual pursuits, 7 that deals with ideas on their merits and that accepts 8 contradictory debate as a gift of democracy. This is not 9 the case everywhere and there is a lot that the legal 10 profession can do about it. I believe that never more than 11 now has so much been expected of the legal profession, 12 particularly with respect to the classical role of the 13 lawyer as standing between the State and the individual. 14 On the 17th of July, 1998, a diplomatic 15 conference convened in Rome decided to establish an 16 international criminal court and adopted the text of the 17 statute of that court. The court will be expected to try 18 military and political leaders for genocide, crimes against 19 humanity and war crimes. In my opinion it is fair to say 20 that once it is in place the international criminal court 21 will be the most imaginative attempt to date to break the 22 cycle of empowerment based literally on killing opposition 23 and dissent. 24 I think it is particularly appropriate in 25 this vein for me to recognize the magnificent contribution ATCHISON & DENMAN COURT REPORTING SERVICES LTD. 155 University Avenue, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario CANADA M5H 3B7 (416) 865-9339 (800) 250-9059 www.stenographers.com February 25, 1999 Special Convocation - 3:15 p.m. 8 1 of many and in particular of Canada and of Canadians to the 2 successful adoption of the Rome Treaty. It is truly an 3 occasion to celebrate further progress of the rule of law 4 over the rule of force and the repudiation of state 5 sovereignty as a pretext for impunity of powerful primates.
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