Michel Bastarache : biography
J. E. Michel Bastarache (born June 10, 1947 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and retired puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.
Born in Quebec City, Bastarache earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Université de Moncton in 1967. He received a Licence d’études supérieures en droit public from the University of Nice in 1972.
Returning to school, he went on to get his Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Ottawa in 1978. He was called to the New Brunswick Bar in 1980, the Alberta Bar in 1985, and the Ontario Bar in 1986. In 1978, he joined the Université de Moncton as a Law Professor and was Dean of the Law School from 1980 to 1983. From 1983 to 1984, he was the Director General for the Promotion of Official Languages in the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada. From 1984 to 1987, he was the Associate Dean of the Common Law section of the University of Ottawa.
In 1987, he joined the firm of Lang Michener Lash Johnston becoming partner in 1988. From 1989 to 1994, he was the President and Chief Executive Office of Assumption Mutual Life. In 1994, he moved back to Moncton to practice at Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales. He was appointed to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal in 1995 and then promoted to the Supreme Court in 1997.
Bastarache retired from the Supreme Court, effective June 30, 2008, and has joined the Ottawa office of Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie.
He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in recognition "for his lifelong commitment to the promotion of linguistic duality and the protection of minority rights, as a law professor and a judge" in 2009.
