Marc Nadon

Marc Nadon LL.L. (born September 7, 1949) is a retired judge of the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada. He has practised law in both Quebec and the United Kingdom, focusing on maritime and transportation law. He was also an arbitrator and former lecturer in law at the Université de Sherbrooke. Nadon was nominated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to be a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in October 2013. Following controversy about the appointment, the federal government referred the constitutionality of the appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada. In their decision in Reference Re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6, the Supreme Court held he did not meet the eligibility criteria provided in the Supreme Court Act. He therefore could not be sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court. He continued to sit as a judge of the Federal Court of Appeal.

Early life and family Marc Nadon was born in St-Jérôme, Québec, on September 7, 1949. His father played professional hockey with the American Hockey League in the 1940s as well as being a businessman. His mother was of Ukrainian background whose parents immigrated to Canada from Ukraine during World War I. She was a professional singer, including singing at the Château Frontenac during the big band era. He later appeared with the Junior A Laval Saints. However, his father forced him to choose whether he would continue to pursue a career in professional hockey or instead pursue a traditional career path.

Nadon studied at Collège Lionel-Groulx and obtained his diploma of collegiate studies (D.E.C.) in 1970. In 1973, he earned his Licentiate in Laws (LL.L.) from the Université de Sherbrooke.

Nadon has been married for over 30 years to Margaret Buchan, a Scotswoman from the town of Peebles, Scotland. They have a son, Marc-André, who is also a lawyer and who practises at PFD Lawyers.

Unsuccessful appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada Nadon was nominated by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to be a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Following controversy regarding his appointment, he stated that he would not hear cases until the legal challenge to his appointment was decided. His appointment was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Reference Re Supreme Court Act, ss 5 and 6 on March 21, 2014. By a 6–1 margin, the Court found that he did not meet the requirement of section 6 of the Supreme Court Act, which requires that Quebec appointments to the Court be either a sitting judge on the Quebec Court of Appeal or Quebec Superior Court, or a current member of the Bar of Quebec. Consequently, the Court ruled his appointment had never taken effect and he remained a supernumerary judge of the Federal Court of Appeal.

Works and speeches Learned texts

Seminars In January 2018, at a McGill University law school presentation hosted by the Runnymede Society, Nadon stated his view that the judiciary of Canada too often write their own interpretations of the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and thus present their own notions of fairness as substantive law, instead of being guided by the text of the Charter. In that sense, he thinks that they are politically inclined.

Nadon sees himself in the tradition of an originalist and doctrinaire, in that judges must observe doctrine in order to protect the certainty of the law.