Claire L'Heureux-Dubé Former Justice, Supreme Court of Canada
The Honourable Claire L’Heureux-Dubé served on the Supreme Court of Canada between 1987 and 2002 and remains today one of this country’s foremost activists in promoting human rights through equality.Her judgments endorsed and defended equality rights and spanned many areas of law, from family law to civil law to employment, taxation, and criminal law. Throughout her career, she was steadfast in her protection of women, children, Aboriginal people, people of colour and other disadvantaged groups in society. First appointed to the Bench in 1973 as a Quebec Superior Court judge, the Honourable Madame L’Heureux-Dubé was appointed shortly thereafter to chair a Royal Commission into allegations of sexual exploitation of immigrant women by immigration officers. Her recommendations were accepted in full by the federal government. In 1979, she became the first woman appointed to the Quebec Court of Appeal and eight years later, she was the first woman from Quebec appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. She received a LL.L cum laude from Laval University in 1951 with special awards in Civil Law and Labour Law. During her career in private practice between 1952 and 1973, the Honourable Claire L’Heureux-Dubé served as partner of the firm Bard, L’Heureux & Philippon and later senior partner with L’Heureux, Philippon, Garneau, Tourigny, St-Arnaud & Associates. Since her retirement from the bench in July 2002, she has been named to the position of judge in residence at her alma mater, Université Laval.