Lawrence Poitras

Lawrence A. Poitras QC CM (April 3, 1931 – April 9, 2022) was a judge in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was best known for serving on an inquiry into the wrongful conviction of Donald Marshall and overseeing a high-profile public inquiry into the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).[1]

The Honourable
Lawrence A. Poitras
QC CM
Chief Justice Quebec Superior Court
In office
1992–1996
Preceded byAlan B. Gold
Succeeded byLyse Lemieux
Chair of the Poitras Commission
In office
1996–1999
Personal details
Born(1931-04-03)April 3, 1931
DiedApril 9, 2022(2022-04-09) (aged 91)
SpouseThérèse Boivin Poitras
Children3
Alma materMcGill University (BA)
Université de Montréal (LLL)

Biography

Poitras had a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University (1953) and a law degree from the Université de Montréal.[2] He worked as a journalist with the Montreal Star before training as a barrister.[3] He started a private law practice in 1957 and was named as a Queen's Counsel in 1973. Poitras was appointed a justice of the Quebec Superior Court in 1975, became associate chief justice in 1983, and was promoted to chief justice in 1992. He left the bench in 1996 and joined Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, from which he retired in 2007.[4]

In 1986, he was appointed to serve on a three-person commission of inquiry examining the wrongful conviction of Donald Marshall, a member of Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaq community who served eleven years in prison for a murder he did not commit.[5] The commission's seven volume report, released in 1990, described Nova Scotia's justice system as plagued by racism, unprofessionalism, and unfairness. The commissioners concluded that Marshall was "convicted and sent to prison, in part at least, because he was a native person," recommended an independent review process to investigate alleged cases of wrongful conviction, and called for more members of visible minority communities to be appointed to the bench and hired for correctional services.[6]

In late 1995, he appointed a single judge to oversee all aspects of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney's libel suit against the Canadian Department of Justice and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regarding statements made by RCMP officials about Mulroney's dealings with businessman Karlheinz Schreiber.

The government of Quebec appointed Poitras to lead a public inquiry into the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) in October 1996, following accusations of corruption and evidence tampering within the force. Poitras was given discretion as to the inquiry's parameters and indicated that it would not be limited by a time frame.[7] The 2,700-page report, issued in 1999, accused the force of abusing its powers of arrest, being more concerned with protecting its image than investigating misconduct, and having an "unhealthy air of solidarity, expressed through the law of silence and retaliations" against dissident officers.[8]

He later prepared a report on municipal de-mergers in the buildup to the 2003 Quebec municipal elections. He concluded that de-mergers could save money.[9] In 2005, he served as an election monitor in the Mohawk community of the Kanesatake.[10]

In 2003, he was named as a Member of the Order of Canada.[11]

He died on April 9, 2022, at the age of 91.[12]

References
  1. "Not just aboriginal women should be scared of Quebec's police | CBC News".
  2. The Honourable Lawrence A. Poitras, C.M., Q.C. Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine, Borden Ladner Gervais, accessed 11 June 2011.
  3. "Ex-Star reporter named chief justice," Montreal Gazette, 26 June 1992, A3.
  4. "Quebec Woman chosen to head Superior Court," Globe and Mail, 29 August 1996, A4; "McMaster Meighen (advertisement)", Globe and Mail, 21 November 1996, B9; Kathryn Leger, "Chaimberg returns to roost at Lapointe; Real estate specialist left 3 months ago," Montreal Gazette, 20 March 2009, B3.
  5. Robert Martin, "Three judges to probe conviction of Marshall," Globe and Mail, 24 October 1986, A4. The other commissioners were Alexander Hickman and Gregory Evans.
  6. Kevin Fox and Drew Fagan, "Report says system victimized Marshall," Globe and Mail, 27 January 1990, A1.
  7. Karen Unland, "Surete inquiry allowed to probe force's past; Former Quebec judge gets broad mandate to examine controversial investigation methods," Globe and Mail, 24 October 1996, A13; Karen Unland, "Probe of Quebec police to stress public hearings," Globe and Mail, 26 November 1996, A9.
  8. Robert Melnbardis, "Official inquiry finds Quebec police abuse powers," Reuters News, 28 January 1999, 18:29; Ingrid Peritz, "Quebec provincial police accused of abuses," 29 January 1999, A1; Robert McKenzie, "Quebec's police reform bill called a cop-out --- Threats may be behind weaknesses, criminologist says," Toronto Star, 5 February 2000, p. 1. See also Monique Beaudin, "Gag order to be sought in court next week: Lawyers for provincial police will try to prevent commission's report from being made public," Montreal Gazette, 16 January 1999, A6.
  9. "Anti-municipal merger groups to join Quebec election fray next week," Canadian Press, 15 March 2003, 20:02.
  10. "Notice from the Independent Election Consultant Announcing the Postponement of the Kanesatake General Election Scheduled for March 19, 2005 and Advance Polls Scheduled for March 12, 2005," Canada NewsWire, 11 February 2005, 13:53.
  11. "The Honourable Lawrence A. Poitras". Governor General of Canada. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  12. "Lawrence A. Poitras obituary". remembering.ca. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
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