Advocacy Matters - May 2019

A GALA DINNER IN HONOUR OF
THE HON. CHIEF JUSTICE J. MICHAEL MACDONALD AND
THE HON. CHIEF JUSTICE JOSEPH P. KENNEDY
Saturday, April 6, 2019, | Halifax Convention Centre, Nova Scotia
The Hon. Joseph P. Kennedy, Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, and The Hon.
J. Michael MacDonald, Chief Justice of Nova Scotia and Chief Justice of
the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
Rounding out a stellar attendance
from the legal and judicial
communities, we were
joined by members of the
Board of Directors of The Advocates’
Society (who for their
first time, and presumably
not their last, held their board
meetings outside of Ontario –
and lived to tell the tale!).
During the evening, guests
were treated to some powerful
performances by accomplished
musicians - Marko
Simmonds, a second year law
student at the Schulich School
of Law and graduate of the
Berkeley School of Music, and
Reeny Smith, a widely celebrated
African Nova Scotian artist.
The Honourable Justice James
C. MacPherson, Court of Appeal
of Ontario, gave a heartfelt and
amusing tribute to Chief Justice
Kennedy, with shared stories
bringing them back to their
younger years growing up in
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.
Michelle Williams, Director
of the Indigenous Blacks
& Mi’kmaq Initiative at the
Schulich School of Law, spoke
of the positive impact that the
work of Chief Justice MacDonald
has made on the African Nova
Scotian and Mi’kmaq communities
in Nova Scotia, and in Nova
Scotia’s justice system.
What became clear over the
course of the evening was the
close friendship between the
two Chiefs, and the deep respect
they have developed for
each other. So it was particularly
poignant to present them
with an original joint piece commissioned
by award winning
cartoonist Bruce MacKinnon.
But despite that friendship,
and as is often the case at any
east coast social gathering,
some competition emerged
over who “stole the show” with
their humour, and while the
jury is still out on the winner,
one thing was clear to everyone:
the evening gave us all an
opportunity to celebrate – and
acknowledge – the tremendous
accomplishments both
honourees have made to the
administration of justice and
our communities. They will
be missed by many, but their
contributions will have lasting
effects and we are better for
them having been here.
A special thanks to the entire
organizing committee:
The Honourable Justice Elizabeth
Van den Eynden, Nova
Scotia Court of Appeal, The
Honourable Associate Chief
Justice Deborah Smith, Nova
Scotia Supreme Court, The
Honourable John Keith (as he
now is), Faith Gallant, Executive
Assistant to Chief Justice
Kennedy, and last but most
definitely not least, Robin
Black and Rachel Stewart of
The Advocates’ Society.
And to the extent there was
ever any debate, it is now settled
that Atlantic Canada sets
the standard on how to throw
a party!
The Hon. Joseph P. Kennedy, Chief
Justice of the Nova Scotia
Supreme Court
The Hon. J. Michael MacDonald,
Chief Justice of Nova Scotia and
Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia
Court of Appeal
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