Michel Bastarache

Mr. Justice Bastarache, BA, LLL, LLB, DES, was called to the Bar in six provinces. He was a law professor and Dean at the University of Moncton Law School and Associate Dean, Common Law Section, at the University of Ottawa. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick in 1995 and served on the Supreme Court of Canada in 1997 until 2008. He now practices law. Mr. Bastarache was a member of the Interim Constitutional Court of Kenya. He was Commissioner for the Reform of the Official Languages Act of New Brunswick and President of the Working Group on Academic Freedom at the University of Ottawa. He was also the Commissioner of La Commission d'enquête sur la nomination des juges au Québec. He was the independent conciliator for the indemnification of victims of sexual abuse for the dioceses of Bathurst and Moncton, as well as the independent conciliator for the indemnification of the female members of the RCMP victims of sexual harassment. Justice Bastarache is a member of the Administrative Tribunal of the Association of American States in Washington. He is editor and principal author of three books and has been awarded a dozen awards, including Companion of the Order of Canada and Officier de la Légion d'honneur of France.