Brian Dickson

Robert George Brian Dickson was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and served with distinction as an artillery officer in the Canadian Army during World War II, losing his right leg to allied friendly fire in Normandy in 1944. Returning to Manitoba, he became a corporate lawyer before being appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1973, serving as Chief Justice from 1984 to 1990.

Chief Justice Dickson was the primary judicial architect of Canada's modern constitutional law following the repatriation of the constitution in 1982. In landmark cases like R. v. Oakes (formulating the Oakes Test) and R. v. Big M Drug Mart, he established the generous, purposive interpretation of Charter rights, protecting minority rights and fundamental freedoms.