Canadian lawyer
The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous law ...
, specializing in
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
tax
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
issues. He has written extensively for professional journals, and has lectured throughout North America and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
on tax issues.
Bell was born in
Deloraine, Manitoba
Deloraine is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Deloraine – Winchester within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held town status prior to January 1, 2015. It is situated near the Turtle Mountains in the southwester ...
. He graduated from
Brandon College
Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in 1951 and obtained a
law degree
A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gr ...
from the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Department of National Revenue, Taxation Division and later became a partner in Fenerty & Co, a
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
law firm. In 1978, he was appointed to the Queen’s Privy Council. In 1978, he formed Bell Felesky Flynn, a law practice focusing on taxation. Bell was the Chancellor of Brandon University from 1990 to 1996. In 1991, he was appointed Judge of the
Tax Court of Canada
The Tax Court of Canada (TCC; french: Cour canadienne de l'impôt), established in 1983 by the '' Tax Court of Canada Act'', is a federal superior court which deals with matters involving companies or individuals and tax issues with the Governm ...
.
Brandon University
Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...
honoured him on January 24, 2002, by inducting him into the Brandon University Hall of Fame.