Marc Nadon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marc Nadon LL.L. (born September 7, 1949) is a supernumerary judge on the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal. He has practised law in both Quebec and the United Kingdom, focusing on maritime and transportation law. He was also an arbitrator and former lecturer in law at the
Université de Sherbrooke The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; Quebec English, English: ''University of Sherbrooke'') is a French-language Public university, public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the Mont ...
. Nadon was nominated by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
to be a puisne justice of the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
in October 2013. Following controversy about the appointment, the federal government referred the constitutionality of the appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada. In their decision in '' Reference Re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6'', the Supreme Court quashed his appointment, concluding he did not meet the eligibility criteria provided in the ''Supreme Court Act''.


Early life and family

Marc Nadon was born in St-Jérôme, Québec, on September 7, 1949. His father played professional hockey with the American Hockey League in the 1940sAd Hoc Committee on the Appointment of Supreme Court of Canada Justices
," Department of Justice, Canada, October, 2013
as well as being a businessman. His mother was of Ukrainian background whose parents immigrated to Canada from Ukraine during World War I. She was a professional singer, including singing at the Château Frontenac during the big band era. Nadon's father spoke French and English, but his mother spoke Ukrainian and English. His first language was English, but his education was entirely in French-speaking educational institutions. As a youth, it was his dream to become a professional hockey player and he played midget hockey in his hometown. He later appeared with the Junior A Laval Saints. However, his father forced him to choose whether he would continue to pursue a career in professional hockey or instead pursue a traditional career path. Nadon chose his studies, though later claimed that he had turned down a draft offer from the
Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
. In 2013, it was reported that while Nadon was not actually drafted by the Detroit Red Wings, he did play with the Saint-Jérôme Alouettes, a Junior A team whose midget affiliates were part of the Red Wings’ farm team network. Nadon studied at
Collège Lionel-Groulx Collège Lionel-Groulx is a general and professional education college (CEGEP) located in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, Canada. This college has around 6,000 students in regular training and around 2,000 in continuing education. Founding The College ...
and obtained his diploma of collegiate studies (D.E.C.) in 1970. In 1973, he earned his Licentiate in Laws (LL.L.) from the Université de Sherbrooke. Nadon has been married for over 30 years to Margaret Buchan, a Scotswoman from the town of
Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...
, Scotland. They have a son, Marc-André, who is also a lawyer and who practises at PFD Lawyers.


As practitioner

Nadon was admitted to the
Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec () is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Canada (). History The begi ...
in 1974 and practiced law until 1993 at the firm of Martineau Walker (known today as Fasken), where he became a partner in 1981. From 1988 to 1990, he worked in the United Kingdom at the firm's
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
office. His practice essentially involved maritime law and transportation law. He taught maritime law and transportation law at the faculty of law at the
Université de Sherbrooke The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; Quebec English, English: ''University of Sherbrooke'') is a French-language Public university, public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the Mont ...
from 1987 to 1992. He primarily wrote about maritime law. In addition to this, he has worked in the fields of insurance and commercial law, particularly in matters regarding letters of credit and letters of exchange. As a result of his maritime law practice, he often appeared before the Federal Court and the
Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal () is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters. History Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "additional Courts for the better Admi ...
. He also appeared before the
Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdictio ...
, and on occasion before the
Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA; ) is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The court was created on May 30, 1849, as the Court ...
and the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
. As a lawyer, Nadon also gained experience in the field of arbitration, specifically as arbitrator and member of the American Arbitration Association. He sat on several occasions as an arbitrator of maritime law disputes and was given terms as ''ad hoc'' arbitrator, in particular in litigation. He led arbitration in London and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
on behalf of clients in Canada and abroad. Throughout his years of practice, he was a member of the
Canadian Bar Association The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada. History The Association's first Annual Meeting was ...
and a member of th
Canadian Maritime Law Association


As Federal Court judge

Nadon was appointed as a judge to the Federal Court of Canada – Trial Division, and ex officio a member of the Appeal Division of that Court on June 10, 1993. On April 14, 1994, he was appointed as a judge to the
Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada The Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada (CMAC) () hears appeals from Courts-martial of Canada ("court martial, courts martial"). In Canada, courts martial are presided over by independent military judges from the office of the Chief Military J ...
. He was appointed as a member of the Competition Tribunal on December 16, 1998, for a term of seven years. On December 14, 2001, he was appointed as a judge to the Federal Court of Canada – Appeal Division (now the
Federal Court of Appeal The Federal Court of Appeal () is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters. History Section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867 empowers the Parliament of Canada to establish "additional Courts for the better Admi ...
), and ex officio a member of the Trial Division of that Court. He became a supernumerary judge on July 25, 2011. Nadon was a member of the Federal Courts Rules Committee for a number of years. He was also the Chair of the Education Committee of the Federal Court of Appeal and a member of the Court's Law Clerks Committee. Nadon's most outstanding ruling (in the opinion of a journalist) was written in 2010 when he found that the government of
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
had acted lawfully when it denied Omar Khadr repatriation from Guantanamo Bay prison, an offshore warehouse used by the US for detained terrorists. He was the only judge on three levels to side with the government. The
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
later agreed with his view that it was no business of theirs to mandate Khadr's repatriation.


Unsuccessful appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada

Nadon was nominated by the Conservative government of Prime Minister
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
to be a puisne justice of the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
. He was formally appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on October 3, 2013, and sworn in on October 7, 2013. Following controversy regarding his appointment, he stated that he would not hear cases until the legal challenge to his appointment was decided. His appointment was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in '' Reference Re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6'' on March 21, 2014. By a 6–1 margin, the Court found that he did not meet the requirement of section 6 of the ''Supreme Court Act,'' which requires that Quebec appointments to the Court be either a sitting judge on the
Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA; ) is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The court was created on May 30, 1849, as the Court ...
or
Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdictio ...
, or a current member of the
Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec () is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Canada (). History The begi ...
. Consequently, the Court ruled his appointment had never taken effect and he remained a supernumerary judge of the Federal Court of Appeal.


Works and speeches


Learned texts

*


Seminars

In January 2018, at a
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
law school presentation hosted by the Runnymede Society, Nadon stated his view that the judiciary of Canada too often write their own interpretations of the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and thus present their own notions of fairness as substantive law, instead of being guided by the text of the Charter. In that sense, he thinks that they are politically inclined. Nadon sees himself in the tradition of an originalist and doctrinaire, in that judges must observe doctrine in order to protect the certainty of the law.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadon, Marc 1949 births Living people Université de Sherbrooke alumni Lawyers in Quebec Academic staff of the Université de Sherbrooke Judges of the Federal Court of Appeal (Canada) People from Saint-Jérôme Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Judges of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada Canadian legal scholars