Justice Russell Brown’s departure leaves conservative vacuum on Supreme Court of Canada

By Sean Fine | Published by The Globe & Mail

[Excerpt follows]

Often in dissenting opinions – but occasionally winning big – Justice Brown attempted to push the court to the right on everything from women’s equality to international human rights, from climate change to gay rights and from property rights to voting rights.

Justice Brown was “an indispensable reality check” on a liberal court, says Queen’s University law professor Bruce Pardy.

While liberal observers saw Justice Brown differently – as a judge bent on discarding or overcoming precedents perceived as left-wing – both groups agreed on the power of his voice.

“He is a bold and confident thinker unafraid of challenging legal orthodoxy,” said Bruce Ryder, a professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, who tended not to see eye to eye with Justice Brown.

Read the full article at the publisher’s website here.

Image: Jon Kolbert