ABOUT THE BORA LASKIN AWARD

The Bora Laskin Award has been established by the University of Toronto to honour those who have made Outstanding Contributions to Canadian Labour Law. The award is named after the late Chief Justice Bora Laskin (1912-1984) who, before joining the Supreme Court of Canada, was pre-eminent as a labour law scholar and labour arbitrator.

Nominations are considered of any professional involved in labour law, including academics, labour and management counsel, judges, arbitrators and adjudicators.

2011 BORA LASKIN AWARD RECIPIENT

Andrew Sims, Q.C.
Andrew Sims, Q.C., a widely respected adjudicator, arbitrator and mediator, has been chosen by the Selection Committee as the 2011 recipient of the Bora Laskin Award. This award, named in honour of the late Chief Justice Bora Laskin, has been established by the University of Toronto to honour those who have made outstanding contributions to Canadian labour law.

A labour lawyer for over 36 years, Andrew Sims has had a long and distinguished career devoted to public service and to the development of labour law in Canada. Mr. Sims was Chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board from 1985 to 1994 and Chair of the Public Service Employee Relations Board in 1993 and 1994. He continues to serve as a part time Vice-Chair of the Alberta Board and was a part time Vice-Chair of the Canada Industrial Relations Board for three years. He has been a member and Vice-Chair of the Alberta Law Reform Institute, and a Sessional Instructor at the University of Alberta Law School. Mr. Sims has also served as a Board Member of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals.

In 1995, Mr. Sims was appointed to chair a federal Task Force to review the labour relations provisions of the Canada Labour Code, culminating in the report "Seeking a Balance," which formed the basis of amendments to the Code in 1998, modernizing and improving collective bargaining in the federal sector. In 1994, Mr. Sims conducted a major review of the organization of the Alberta Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission. He was also a member of the 1997 Advisory Committee on the Changing Workplace, under the chairmanship of the federal Minister of Labour.

Nationally respected as a neutral arbitrator and mediator, Mr. Sims has been called upon to resolve a number of high-profile labour disputes in all sectors of the economy, under Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and federal legislation. He frequently provides advice and counsel to administrative tribunals throughout the country. In 2005, Mr. Sims was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal for "outstanding service to the people and province of Alberta.

BORA LASKIN AWARD DINNER
Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Top Floor, The Sutton Place Hotel Toronto
955 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario

Cocktails – 6:00 p.m.
Dinner – 7:00 p.m.

Andrew Sims, Q.C.
is this year's recipient of the
University of Toronto Bora Laskin Award for
Outstanding Contributions to Labour Law in Canada

Tickets and tables can be ordered at 416-977-6618, or via the conference registration page.

BORA LASKIN AWARD RECIPIENTS

2003

Harry Arthurs

Tribute to Harry Arthurs by Hon. Justice John Laskin

Pierre Verge

Tribute to Pierre Verge by M. Robert Gagnon

Paul Weiler

Paul Weiler's Acceptance Speech

Bora Laskin was born in Fort William (Thunder Bay), Ontario, on October 5, 1912. He was the son of Max Laskin and Bluma Zingel. After graduating with a B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1933, he enrolled at Osgoode Hall Law School. From 1933 to 1936, he served his articles and continued to study at the University of Toronto, earning an M.A. in 1935 and an LL.B. in 1936.

The following year, he received an LL.M. from Harvard Law School. Upon his return to Toronto that year, he was called to the bar and began his legal career writing headnotes for The Canadian Abridgement. In 1940 he embarked on a teaching career that spanned 25 years, mostly at the University of Toronto except for four years at Osgoode Hall (1945-49). He was the author of many legal texts, including Canadian Constitutional Law, and was associate editor of Dominion Law Reports and Canadian Criminal Cases for 23 years.

He was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1965 and to the Supreme Court of Canada on March 19, 1970. On December 27, 1973, he was named Chief Justice of Canada. He served on the Supreme Court for 14 years.

Chief Justice Laskin died on March 26, 1984, at the age of 71.