Roy Lacaud Heenan, (September 28, 1935 – February 3, 2017) was a Canadian

labour law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

yer, academic and art collector. He was a founding partner of the Canadian law firm

Heenan Blaikie Heenan Blaikie LLP was a Canadian law firm. It practised in the areas of business, labour and employment, litigation, taxation, entertainment law and intellectual property law. The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, and Pe ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

to Ernest Heenan and his wife Yvonne Lacaud, and moved to Canada in 1947. He attended

Trinity College School Trinity College School (TCS) is a co-educational, independent boarding and day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than two years before Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School for ...

Port Hope, Ontario Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and west of Kingston, Ontario, Kingston. It is at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County, Onta ...

, graduating in 1953. Heenan subsequently 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 ...

degree in 1957 and a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

degree in 1960, both from

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, ...

, where he joined the

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society () is a North American social college fraternity. Founded in 1825, it was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraterni ...

Career

Heenan was called 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 1961. He was a co-founder of

in 1973 and Chair of the Executive Committee until 2012. The firm closed in 2014 after its partners voted to dissolve it. He was an adjunct professor in labour law at McGill University from 1971 to 1996, and a lecturer for the Industrial Relations Centre at Queen's University since 1972. He had also taught at

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

and the

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 ...

. Heenan served as the first chairman of the

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (), commonly called the Trudeau Foundation (), is a Canadian charity founded in 2001 named after former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Donations to the charity increased when Justin Trudeau became t ...

. He was also a member of the board of the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

Honours

In 1998, Heenan was made an Officer of 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 ...

in recognition of being "one of the country's leading labour lawyers who has also made significant contributions to academic life and the art world". McGill University awarded him an honorary

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 ...

(LL.D.) degree in 2008.

Death

Heenan died after a long illness on February 3, 2017, aged 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heenan, Roy 1935 births 2017 deaths Lawyers in Quebec People from Mexico City Canadian legal scholars Academic staff of McGill University Trinity College School alumni Academic staff of Université Laval Bishop's College School alumni Officers of the Order of Canada Academic staff of Queen's University at Kingston Academic staff of the University of Ottawa Labour law scholars Labour lawyers McGill University Faculty of Law alumni