Roy McMurtry was a legal luminary, human rights champion and passionate advocate for the disenfranchised
March 22, 2024
The apple does not fall from the tree.
When Roland Roy McMurtry Sr. and B.J Spencer Pitt walked into Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier hotel lobby in the 1940s to book rooms before appearing before the Supreme Court, the front desk refused to register Ontario’s fifth Black lawyer.
In no uncertain terms, McMurtry – who did a lot of pro bono work and fiercely opposed any form of racial and religious discrimination -- told the clerk his colleague was going to get one which he did.
Roland Roy McMurtry Jr., who followed in his father’s footsteps in becoming a legal luminary, human rights champion and passionate advocate for the disenfranchised, died on March 18 just days after suffering a stroke.
He was 91.
“Roy was a champion of just causes and he got that from his dad,” said longtime friend Dr. Sheldon Taylor. “He was privileged and one of the boys, but he never behaved like them. He was not afraid to tell them when they were wrong and scold them. He was a leader and a man of his time.”
McMurtry mentored many young Black lawyers, including Michael Tulloch who, in December 2022, became Ontario’s first Black Chief Justice and President of the province’s Court of Appeal.
They met when Tulloch was in law school.
“When many of us were coming up in the profession, Roy invited us individually to his office to talk and then go for lunch,” he said. “That was something he was consistent with. We always got the best possible advice. As I got to know him more, he treated me like a son. My generation of Black lawyers owes a lot to him.”
McMurtry encouraged Tulloch to become a Judge.
“I was not thinking of that at the time because I was doing well in private practice, specializing in criminal law,” he said. “When I got the call, I spoke to him and Sheldon Levy. I waited for about six months before I put my application in and Roy supported it. He was also in my corner when I got to the Court of Appeal.”
When the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL) emerged in 1996, McMurtry legitimized the organization by giving his full support.
CABL honoured him at their 10th awards gala in October 2006.
“I experienced real sadness when I heard of his passing,” said former CABL President Frank Walwyn who is a Partner at WeirFoulds. “He was a true friend to the Black community at large and to the Black legal community in particular. Roy McMurtry is a legend and many laud his intellect and consensus-building prowess. What I will always remember is his ability to go out of his way to meet and acknowledge the person many would view as the least important in a room. He would speak to you and make you feel welcome. He connected and listened and you knew that you were being heard. More times than not, that person was racialized.
“I know this because, as a very young lawyer, I experienced it first-hand. Before words like sponsorship and champion became popular, he lived that role for many young Black lawyers. He was always supportive and kind, behind the scenes pushing us forward or pulling us up. Many of us felt it would be presumptuous to claim him as our friend. He recognized our reluctance and was always gracious enough to encourage us to do so. We all felt honoured by the invitation, but few of us took him up on it. In truth, we never felt the need because his actions were always those of a true friend and supporter. He will be tremendously missed and never forgotten.”
Patricia DeGuire, who co-founded CABL with Sandy Thomas and Roger Rowe, said McMurtry took steps to advance inclusion and belonging long before it was the flavour of the day.
“I was a beneficiary of that,” noted the Ontario Human Rights Commission Chief Commissioner. “At a function 17 years ago, he and then Chief Justice Patrick LeSage inquired whether I had applied for the judiciary. When I told LeSage of my reluctance to respond, he said ‘I think it is time’ and McMurtry said ‘I agree’. Both simultaneously said they would be references. They followed up on whether I did. It is not that I ever lacked confidence. However given my perpetual experiences of race and gender discrimination in the legal profession, it was a strong affirmation that I am good enough. Whenever I met Roy, he was never too busy to pause and say hello and introduce me to whoever was with him.”
McMurtry was in attendance when Rowe was presented the Law Society of Ontario Lincoln Alexander Award in 2007.
“With all of his judicial power and substantial political background, he always maintained his humility,” said the sole practitioner. “We had many lunches together and discussed every topic under the sun. While heading the Ontario Court of Appeal, he consulted me regularly on some of the challenges facing the Jane & Finch community, including policing issues, systemic racism and what could be done to address them. He had a genuine regard for helping humanity and helping to better the human condition.”
Roy McMurtry with Roger Rowe (l) and his mom Joan at the 2007 Law Society of Ontario awards ceremony (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Over the years, McMurtry also mentored hundreds of Black students, including Sabrina McHugh-Thomas who attended a community celebration 17 years ago to celebrate the province’s outgoing Chief Justice.
She and several of her Shiloh Christian Institute classmates spent an hour with McMurtry in his office two months earlier in April 2007.
“I found him to be humble and down-to-earth and he answered every question with detail,” recalled McHugh-Thomas who is a Clinical Psychologist. “I left his office with the understanding that even at the highest heights, the simplest gestures can translate into making a huge difference, Also, the true motive for stepping out and standing up for change and justice for all cannot be deterred by opposition no matter what mask or colour it wears.”
Called to the Bar in 1958, McMurtry practiced law and served as Trial Counsel for 17 years before being elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1975.
Appointed Attorney General under the Bill Davis Progressive Conservative government, he helped broker the deal that patriated the Canadian Constitution in 1982 and the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms.
McMurtry also passed more than 50 law reform statutes he introduced, including the first major family law reform legislation in Canada and the establishment of a bilingual court system. He was also instrumental in legalizing same-sex marriage.
While informing photographer Al Peabody he was going to make a political run, McMurtry asked for his support.
“He knew I was well connected in the city’s Black community and he wanted me to be part of his campaign team,” said Peabody who met McMcMurtry through the late Howard Matthews who was one of four partners in Toronto’s first soul food restaurant. “The first election he ran against Margaret Campbell which he lost, I put up posters and distributed flyers. He later won in the Eglinton riding and I was there with him…I also took copies of ‘Share’ and the defunct ‘Contrast’ newspapers to his office at his request because he wanted to know what was happening in the Black community which he cared about.”
After a failed leadership run, McMurtry retired from politics in 1985 and was Canada’s High Commissioner to England for three years. On his return home, he practiced law as a Partner at Blaney McMurtry until his 1991 appointment to the Bench where he served as Associate Chief Justice and Chief Justice of the Superior Court before being appointed to the Court of Appeal as Chief Justice of Ontario.
“Roy was a remarkable person,” said Blaney McMurtry Managing Partner Shawn Wolfson. “His varied and extensive career in law and politics along with his dedication to public service is an inspiration to all of us. His commitment to social justice was unwavering. Roy was an avid amateur artist and one of his paintings of Brigus South in Newfoundland, hangs in our offices today and will always remind us of him.”
McMurtry’s vast legal expertise was often sought by Canadian Prime Ministers, Premiers and Mayors.
He chaired then-Mayor David Miller’s Community Advisory Panel that included Ryan Teschner who is Ontario’s first Inspector General of Policing.
“I could not believe it when, over and over, as discussions about gun and gang violence, prevention initiatives and community safety were taking place around that table, Roy would turn to me and ask for my perspectives,” said the former Toronto Police Service Board Executive Director and Chief of Staff. “His interest in hearing from me was genuine, even shaping his views and our Panel’s actions.
“When he asked to read a paper I wrote about the youth justice system, he gave it back to me with a beautiful note and comments in the margins, I thought I was dreaming. I will never forget the many lunches we shared and the bottle of Tabasco sauce that was always beside anything he ate. He was a legend, an inspiration and a ‘mensch’.”
In addition to chairing that panel, McMurtry headed an independent review of the ‘secret law’ that gave police excessive powers during the G20 summit in June 2010 and was summoned to use his experience to help stem youth violence in the province.
He and former Ontario House Speaker Alvin Curling authored ‘The Roots of Violence’ report ordered by then Premier Dalton McGuinty following the May 2007 shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Manners in his northwest Toronto school.
“Roy was very conscious of the challenges that young people from marginalized communities face,” said Curling, a former provincial Cabinet Minister and Canadian Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. “He allowed me to take the lead and gave sound legal advice.”
Curling said McMurtry worked behind the scenes to ensure that Black trailblazers were recognized.
“I was at a meeting with Roy who was concerned that Black folks from the province were not getting appointments to the Order of Ontario,” he said. “I put forward two names and they were subsequently appointed. That was because of Roy.”
Roy McMurtry (l), Carolyn Vesley, Kate Broer and Ian Epstein presented the Blaney McMurtry scholarship to Asha Osman in June 2011 (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Never one to judge people, McMurtry was the Founding Patron of the Second Chance Scholarship Foundation (SCSF) which provides scholarships for young people who have been in conflict with the law or who are from challenged neighbourhoods and are pursuing post-secondary education.
Rick Gosling said his friend, who was the Founding President of the Osgoode Society in 1979, had a special place in his heart for young people.
“I and Sheldon (Taylor) took kids to Osgoode Hall Law School and Roy made them feel special,” the SCSF co-founder pointed out. “Roy walked them through the building, explaining the history. He just made the young people, mainly from our Breakfast Clubs and marginalized communities, feel valued and respected. He was very kind and empathetic.”
After failing to get a meeting with McMurtry in 1977, former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke left a letter at his Queen’s Park office, accusing the Attorney General of ‘anti-White’ policies.
The threatening missive did not move McMurtry who was a Canadian Football League Chair for a year.
“Whenever you visited Roy’s office, you saw the letter that was placed for everyone to see,” added Gosling. “He was proud that he stood up to Duke.”
Before being appointed Justice of the Peace in 1978, Arthur Downes was interviewed by McMurtry who was an anti-apartheid activist.
“Roy was very pleasant and the interview was straightforward,” said 96-year-old Downes who received McMurtry’s support when he contested the Oakwood riding for the ‘Red Tory’ party in the 1977 elections. “When he brought up the question Branch Rickey asked Jackie Robinson which is, ‘Could I handle the aggravation because they are going to be coming at you?’, I assured him I could as I have done that all my life.”
When he retired as Ontario’s top jurist in May 2007, Taylor and late trade unionist and activist Bromley Armstrong organized a community celebration.
“Roy stood with our community in times when no one else chose to take that stand,” said Taylor. “He was someone that I and many others could call and he would get back to us in five or 10 minutes if he didn’t answer the phone right away. He often told me to bring Brom (Bromley Armstrong conceived the idea for the tribute) and let’s have a sandwich. In what other country would someone with such high responsibility as far as jurisprudence is concerned have that common touch?”
In his last official public speech as Ontario’s Chief Justice a month earlier, McMurtry called on Canadians to guard against racism and oppression.
“In my view, it requires that each responsible citizen continues to commit himself and herself to strengthening the relatively fragile fabric of our pluralistic society,” he said in the keynote address at the Urban Alliance on Race Relations awards dinner. “This is particularly important in times when there continues to be economic uncertainty for many of us who are citizens despite our general economic prosperity. We must recognize that all the laws in the world and all the human rights codes count for little if individual citizens are not prepared to make a personal commitment to tolerance, understanding and, above all, to fighting intolerance and bigotry at every opportunity.”
“My many years as a lawyer, Attorney General and Chief Justice have taught me this palpable truth and that is the law alone is not enough to protect those who are a different colour and those who prefer a different religion. The law will never be enough because there is simply no legislation in the world capable of legislating ultimate principles.”
A legal counsel to the Toronto Metropolitan Police, representing police chiefs and other senior officers in public inquiries and civil and criminal trials, McMurtry was also an early proponent of police reform and community policing.
After leaving the Bench, he returned to law practice at Gowling LaFleur Henderson until 2014 and then Hull & Hull.
Roy McMurtry (l) and then York University Vice-Chancellor & President Mamdouh Shoukri presented an honourary doctorate to retired Senator Donald Oliver in 2012 (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2007 and the Order of Canada two years later, McMurtry, who served as York University’s 12th Chancellor, is survived by six children.
His wife of 66 years – Ria – passed away last October. Her parents migrated from Trinidad & Tobago.
