Memoirs and Reflections

by Roy McMurtry

Overview

From “the Kid” on the Varsity Blues football team to “the Chief” at Osgoode Hall, R. Roy McMurtry has had a remarkably varied and influential career. As reformist attorney general of Ontario, one of the architects of the agreement that brought about the patriation of the Canadian Constitution, high commissioner to the United Kingdom, and chief justice of Ontario, he made a large and enduring contribution to Canadian law, politics, and life.

These memoirs cover all these facets of his remarkable career, as well as his law practice, his work on various commissions of inquiry, and his reflections on family, sport, and art. This volume is both an account of his life in public service and a portrait of a humane, humorous, still optimistic, and always decent man.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442616622
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	10/28/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	640
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

The Honourable Roy McMurtry, OC, O.Ont., QC, is currently Chancellor of York University and serves as counsel to Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Jim Phillips

Part One: Getting Established
Part Two: The Practice of Law
Part Three: Attorney General of Ontario
Part Four: At the Court of St James and Home Again
Part Six: Retirement

Acknowledgments
Index

What People are Saying About This

Peter H. Russell

“This book is a wonderful read. Roy McMurtry covers so many topics – law, politics, sport, race relations, the life of an ambassador – with clarity, brevity, candoUr, humour, and a knack for finding the right words.”

The Hon. William Davis

“A very valuable and highly readable account of an influential career in many aspects of public service, from politics to diplomacy to the judiciary.”

Rosalie Abella

“Roy McMurtry took the justice system by the hand and led it fearlessly out of its indifference into a commitment to fairness. In just one generation. Remarkable!”

Stephen Lewis

“This book is a reader's delight, brimming with insider anecdotes, uncompromising honesty, and a vivid sense of political and judicial history. It adds a reservoir of fact, opinion, and judgment to the chronicles of Ontario, Canada, and the world. From college football hero, to attorney general, to chief justice, to high commissioner, Roy McMurtry has led a remarkable life. Read and marvel!”

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/14/2013
McMurtry's memoir provides a self-portrait of a man who was at the center of major events in Canada's recent history. Behind the varied career was a man driven by compassion. His work as a reformist defense lawyer, attorney-general of Ontario, member of provincial parliament (Ontario), high commissioner of the United Kingdom and chief justice of Ontario, to name only a few, often took him to the epicenter of events that reshaped Canada, from the partition of the constitution from Britain to the recent recognition of same-sex marriage. McMurtry provides accounts of controversial legal cases such as a nurse wrongly charged with murdering babies and notorious police raids on Toronto bathhouses in to explain his perspective. But these perceived missteps are outweighed by his contributions to women's rights and race relations. A "Red Tory," McMurtry is an heir to a now eclipsed conservative tradition that embraced ideals of humanitarianism and the common good quite alien to the strain that currently dominates. His autobiography is a poignant reminder of a lost era when conservatives were "Progressive" and a heart-warming account of a man whom history will no doubt record left Canada a better place than he found it. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

“Here is a book that should be mandatory reading for every first year law student in Canada, as it is not only filled with a valuable history lesson about our legal profession but it also establishes some benchmarks that young lawyers might set for themselves as they launch their careers.”

—Michael Cochrane, JUST Magazine

‘Memoirs and Reflections is a reader’s delight… McMurtry’s style is strong, elegant, and balanced to match a public and private life that cannot fail to fascinate and impress.’

—Jane Mattison Ekstram, British Journal of Canadian Studies vol 28:01:2015

“McMurtry’s book provides a Red Tory elegy for the civility and moderation that have been twin victims of these toxic and partisan times.”

—Jim Coyle, Toronto Star

“A poignant reminder of a lost era when conservatives were ‘Progressive’ and a heart-warming account of a man whom history will no doubt record left Canada a better place than he found it.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

‘Memoirs and Reflections is a reader’s delight… McMurtry’s style is strong, elegant, and balanced to match a public and private life that cannot fail to fascinate and impress.’

—Jane Mattison, Ekstam, British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol 28:01:2015

‘ Memoirs, adds another dimension to a set of remarkable first-hand impressions of critical moments in Canadian history (including the patriation of the constitution), and a perspective on the idealism that made numerous achievements possible.’

—Ryan Alford, Ontario History, Autumn 2016

“This book is a wonderful read. Roy McMurtry covers so many topics – law, politics, sport, race relations, the life of an ambassador – with clarity, brevity, candoUr, humour, and a knack for finding the right words.”
—Peter H. Russell, University Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Toronto

"This book is a reader's delight, brimming with insider anecdotes, uncompromising honesty, and a vivid sense of political and judicial history. It adds a reservoir of fact, opinion, and judgment to the chronicles of Ontario, Canada, and the world. From college football hero, to attorney general, to chief justice, to high commissioner, Roy McMurtry has led a remarkable life. Read and marvel!"

—Stephen Lewis, Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations

“Roy McMurtry took the justice system by the hand and led it fearlessly out of its indifference into a commitment to fairness. In just one generation. Remarkable!”

—Rosalie Abella, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

“A very valuable and highly readable account of an influential career in many aspects of public service, from politics to diplomacy to the judiciary.”

—The Hon. William Davis, Premier of Ontario, 1971–1985

From the Publisher

McMurtry’s book provides a Red Tory elegy for the civility and moderation that have been twin victims of these toxic and partisan times.”

Toronto Star - Jim Coyle

‘Memoirs and Reflections is a reader’s delight… McMurtry’s style is strong, elegant, and balanced to match a public and private life that cannot fail to fascinate and impress.’

British Journal of Canadian Studies vol 28:01:2015 - Jane Mattison Ekstram

Here is a book that should be mandatory reading for every first year law student in Canada, as it is not only filled with a valuable history lesson about our legal profession but it also establishes some benchmarks that young lawyers might set for themselves as they launch their careers.”

JUST Magazine - Michael Cochrane

‘Memoirs and Reflections is a reader’s delight… McMurtry’s style is strong, elegant, and balanced to match a public and private life that cannot fail to fascinate and impress.’

Ekstam, British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol 28:01:2015 - Jane Mattison

'Memoirs, adds another dimension to a set of remarkable first-hand impressions of critical moments in Canadian history (including the patriation of the constitution), and a perspective on the idealism that made numerous achievements possible.'

Ontario History, Autumn 2016 - Ryan Alford