Robert Wells (August 28, 1933 – October 28, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. He represented St. John's South from 1972 to 1975 and Kilbride from 1975 to 1979 in the

Newfoundland House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Bu ...

. He sat on the

Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the superior court for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both criminal and civil matters from the Provincial Court and desig ...

from 1986 to 2008.

Early life

Wells was born in

Badger's Quay Badger's Quay is a Canadian town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Located on Bonavista Bay, it had a population of 611 in 1956. Its name was referred to as Badger's Bay in early census data. The name "badger" probably named after t ...

, the son of Reverend Warwick Wells and Dorcas Parsons. He was educated at

Memorial University Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

in St. John's and then selected as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

in 1953. He attended

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and was admitted to the

Bar of England and Wales Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

in 1958.

Legal career

On his return to Newfoundland, Wells was employed in the civil service as an economist, later working in the Justice department as a

Crown attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel () or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and vario ...

and departmental advisor from 1959 to 1962. He started practising law in St. John's that same year, concentrating on

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

and civil law. Wells was named

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1972. He had a general litigation practice, including using

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

methods such as

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

and

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

.Centre for Innovative Dispute Resolution: Honourable Robert Wells, Q.C.
/ref> Wells continued his private practice until he was appointed to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland in 1986. He served as a judge for 22 years before retiring in 2008. He subsequently returned to private practice, working in alternative dispute resolution.

Leadership in the legal profession

Wells was president of the Law Society of Newfoundland from 1977 to 1981. Four years later, he became the first (and so far the only) Newfoundlander to be elected national president 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 ...

. During his tenure as president, he advocated for legal reforms, such as more expansive freedom of information to information held by the government and greater discretion for judges in

sentencing In criminal law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences f ...

. He opposed bills concerning imprisonment and conditional release, on the basis that these would not ameliorate the legal system. Wells was also active in legal organizations that work to improve human rights internationally and in developing countries.

Provincial politics

Wells became president of the Progressive Conservative Association of Newfoundland in 1964. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Newfoundland assembly in 1971 but was elected the following year. From 1975 to 1976, he served in the Newfoundland cabinet of

Frank Moores Frank Duff Moores (February 18, 1933 – July 10, 2005) served as the second premier of Newfoundland as leader of the Progressive Conservatives from 1972 until his retirement in 1979. Moores was also a successful businessman in both the fis ...

, first as Minister of Health, then as

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

, and later served as

government house leader The Government House Leader, officially known as the leader of the Government in the House of Commons of Canada (), is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of ...

. He returned to the practice of law in 1979.

Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry

On March 12, 2009, Cougar Helicopters Flight 91, flying from St. John's to an off-shore oil platform in the Hibernia oilfield, ditched in the ocean. Of the eighteen crew and passengers aboard, only one survived. The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board, a joint federal-provincial regulator, established the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry Commission to investigate the accident and to make safety recommendations. Wells was named as the commissioner of the inquiry. After extensive hearings, he produced a two volume report and recommendations. One of his key recommendations was that an independent safety regulator be created for the offshore, and given a clear and unambiguous safety mandate. After the inquiry concluded, Wells continued to be an advocate for greater legal regulation for the safety of off-shore activities. He appeared before a parliamentary committee in Ottawa in 2013, testifying in support of a bill to strengthen off-shore safety.

Community service

Wells served as chair of the board for the Janeway Child Health Centre. From 1979 to 1984, he acted as the

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

(legal advisor) of the

Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador The Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador is one of seven dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada in the Anglican Church of Canada. As of 2012 the diocese had 50,000 members in 81 congregations organised in 35 parishes. T ...

Death

Wells died on October 28, 2020, at the age of 87.

Honours

* 1970 Honorary Membership in the Canadian Police Association * 1972 Queen's Counsel * 2002

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

"honoris causa", Benchers of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador * 2015 Doctor of Laws ''honoris causa'',

Memorial University: "Fall honorary degree recipients announced," September 10, 2015.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Robert 1933 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Canadian judges 20th-century Canadian lawyers 21st-century Canadian judges 21st-century Canadian lawyers Canadian Anglicans Canadian Bar Association presidents Canadian King's Counsel Judges in Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian Rhodes Scholars People from Newfoundland (island) Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs 20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly