Alfred Maurice Monnin (March 6, 1920 - November 29, 2013) was a judge in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. He was appointed to the

Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench The Court of King's Bench of Manitoba ()—or the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, depending on the monarch—is the superior court of the Canadian province of Manitoba. The court is divided into two divisions. The Family Division deals wi ...

in 1957 and to the

Manitoba Court of Appeal The Manitoba Court of Appeal () is the court of appeal in, and the highest court of, the Canadian province of Manitoba. It hears criminal, civil, and family law cases, as well as appeals from various administrative boards and tribunals. Seated i ...

in 1962. In 1983 he was appointed Chief Justice of Manitoba. He retired from the Bench in 1990. Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

to parents Alphonse-Louis Monnin and Adèle Sperisen, he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1939 from

Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

. After serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 19 ...

, he received a

Bachelor of Law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1946. In 1998, he oversaw a commission of inquiry into a vote-splitting scandal in the 1995 provincial election. He had previously served as Chief Justice of Manitoba. The Monnin Inquiry was called after accusations that local organizers from the Progressive Conservative Party organized and funded candidates of another party,

Independent Native Voice Independent Native Voice, also known as Native Voice, was a short-lived political party in Manitoba, Canada. It was created in 1995 to address aboriginal issues, and ran three candidates in the 1995 provincial election. Native Voice was not regist ...

, to split the left-of-centre vote with the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

in three constituencies. Monnin found that the PC organizers were guilty of inducing at least one INV candidate, Darryl Sutherland, to enter the campaign. Senior PC organizer Taras Sokolyk was personally implicated in the scandal. Monnin described the actions of the Conservative organizers as an "unconscionable debasement of a citizen's right to vote" and claimed "in all my years on the Bench I have never encountered as many liars in one proceeding as I did during this inquiry

He has received an honorary Doctor of Laws,

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

(May 28, 1972), Doctor of the University, honoris causa,

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

(October 1972), Doctor of the University, honoris causa, Université Laval (June 1, 1974) and an Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Manitoba (1979). In 1990, he was awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

for having "distinguished himself on the bench for more than 30 years, during which he contributed greatly to the province's legal system." In 2000, he was awarded the

Order of Manitoba The Order of Manitoba is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter Liba granted royal assent to the ''Order of Manitoba Act'', the order is administered by the Governor-in ...

. He has also been appointed a member of L'Ordre des francophones d'Amérique (1979), and an Officer of the French Legion of Honour. He is also a recipient of the

Prix Riel The Prix Riel, created in 1983, recognizes francophones in the Canadian province of Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's ...

, a distinction awarded to

Franco-Manitoban Franco-Manitobans () are French Canadians or Francophone Canadians, Canadian francophones living in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Manitoba. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 40,975 residents of the province stated that ...

s who have contributed in a meaningful way to the representation and expansion of francophone culture in

. Two of his sons,

Michel Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

and Marc Monnin, currently serve on the Manitoba Court of Appeal. His daughter-in-law, Laurie Allen, currently serves on the bench in Manitoba and another daughter-in-law, Donna Miller Q.C., is currently the Deputy Minister of Justice (Manitoba).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monnin, Alfred 1920 births 2013 deaths Judges in Manitoba Officers of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Manitoba People from Winnipeg Canadian military personnel from Manitoba Canadian military personnel of World War II