The Law Society awards honorary doctorates each year to distinguished individuals in recognition of outstanding achievements in the legal profession, the rule of law or the cause of justice.
Justice Paul S. Rouleau was appointed as a Justice of the Superior Court of Ontario in 2002, and to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 2005. He was also appointed as a Deputy Judge of the Supreme Court of Yukon in 2014, and of the Nunavut Court of Justice and the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories in 2017.
Since his appointments, Justice Rouleau has been actively involved in the continuing legal education of judges, both domestically and internationally and of members of the Bar. He chairs the Ontario Attorney General’s Access to Justice in French Advisory Committee and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Law Commission of Ontario. He was a founding member of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO) – a francophone legal community and center of expertise in the province – and was its President from 1985 to 1987. He also served as Trustee of the Metropolitan Toronto Separate School Board from 1986 to 1991.
Justice Rouleau was appointed as the first Chancellor of l’Université de l’Ontario français on May 11, 2022. He is the recipient of the Bastarache-Charron award for the year 2021-2022 given by the RÉCLEF (Regroupement étudiant de common law en français) of the University of Ottawa. He is also the recipient of several awards and recognitions, including an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from York University and the Ordre des francophones d’Amérique, awarded by the Conseil supérieur de la langue française du Québec. In 2005, he was inducted into the Common Law Honour Society of the University of Ottawa.
He is currently the Commissioner of the Public Order Emergency Commission examining the circumstances that led to the declaration of emergency in February 2022.
The honorary LLD was presented to Justice Rouleau at the June 22, 2022, Call to the Bar ceremony in Toronto.
Read more about Justice Rouleau’s experience on the Law Society of Ontario’s website.
David C. Nahwegahbow is one of Canada’s leading Indigenous lawyers and he has made it his focus to address systemic disadvantage and barriers facing Indigenous Peoples in Canada. He has represented First Nations in land claims, Treaty and Aboriginal rights, title cases and has appeared in courts at every level on a wide range of Indigenous legal matters, including at the Supreme Court of Canada in landmark Aboriginal law cases such as Tsilhqot’in.
Nahwegahbow is the founding partner of Nahwegahbow, Corbiere Genoodmagejig, a past member of the board of directors of The Advocates’ Society and is a founding member and former President of the Indigenous Bar Association (IBA). He has received many awards and accolades, including the Indigenous People’s Counsel designation from the IBA, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now called the Indspire Awards) for Law and Justice, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Anishinabek Nation, the Law Society Medal and the Award of Justice from The Advocates’ Society, in recognition of his advocacy and his substantial contribution to achieving the goal of social justice. In 2010, the Faculty of Law inducted him into the Common Law Honour Society.
He was recently a member of the Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments which made recommendations for the most recent appointment to the country’s top court.
The honorary LLD was presented to David C. Nahwegahbow at the June 16, 2022, Call to the Bar ceremony in Ottawa.
Visit the Law Society of Ontario’s website to read more about Nahwegahbow’s experience .
Congratulations to both on these well-deserved honours!