Gérald Fauteux Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
Gerald Fauteux
Office:13th Chief Justice of Canada
Termstart:March 23, 1970
Termend:December 23, 1973
Nominator:Pierre Trudeau
Appointer:Roland Michener
Predecessor:John Robert Cartwright
Successor:Bora Laskin
Office2:Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Termstart2:December 22, 1949
Termend2:March 23, 1970
Nominator2:Louis St. Laurent
Predecessor2:None (new position)
Successor2:Bora Laskin
Office3:Chancellor of the University of Ottawa
Termstart3:1973
Termend3:1979
Predecessor3:Pauline Vanier
Successor3:Gabrielle Léger
Birth Date:22 October 1900
Birth Place:Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec
Alma Mater:Université de Montréal

Joseph Honoré Gérald Fauteux (October 22, 1900  - September 14, 1980) was the 13th Chief Justice of Canada from 1970 to 1973.

Born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, the son of Homère Fauteux and Héva Mercier, he studied at the Université de Montréal and graduated with an LL.L in 1925. Called to the bar that year, he settled in Montreal, where he practised with his uncle, Honoré Mercier Jr., forming the law firm of Mercier & Fauteux. From 1930 to 1936, he was Crown Prosecutor for Montreal, and in 1939 he became Chief Crown Prosecutor of the province of Quebec.

In 1946 he was a legal adviser with the Royal Commission on Spying Activities in Canada. He taught criminal law as a sessional lecturer at McGill University for 14 years and was the dean of the Faculty of Law from 1949 to 1950. In 1947 he was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court and to the Supreme Court of Canada on December 22, 1949. He was also one of the founders of the University of Ottawa's law faculty, serving as dean from 1953 to 1962. He was appointed the Chancellor of the University of Ottawa in 1973. On March 23, 1970, he was named Chief Justice of Canada, retiring on December 23, 1973, having served for 24 years on the court, four as Chief Justice. In 1974 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. Fauteux Hall which houses the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa is named after him.

Chief Justice Fauteux died on September 14, 1980, at the age of 79 and was interred in the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

Family Relations

His grandfather, Honoré Mercier and his uncle, Lomer Gouin, were both former Premiers of Quebec. His grandmother's second husband was Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and later Senator Joseph Godbout. His brother was the politician Gaspard Fauteux.[1]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Black, Conrad. Conrad Black. Duplessis. 2021-09-24. 1977. McClelland and Stewart. 9780771015304. 259.