Claire L'Heureux-Dubé CC GOQ KC (born September 7, 1927) is a retired Canadian judge who served as a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1987 to 2002.
During L'Heureux-Dubé's time on the country's top court, she earned a reputation as a steadfast feminist and supporter of minority rights.
[1] In 1951, she graduated cum laude from the law faculty of Université Laval, despite facing gender discrimination such as not being given scholarships that were awarded to men of similar financial means.
Her writing style and her tendency to use social science research in her reasons made for opinions that were often notable for their sheer length.
Another famous dissent was in Canada (AG) v Mossop,[4] where she alone acknowledged that the meaning of "family" is not fixed and should be read purposively to adapt to the changing times and it should include same-sex couples.
Justice McClung had written the decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal, upholding the acquittal of an accused person in a sexual assault case.
In response, Justice McClung wrote a letter to the National Post attacking L'Heureux-Dubé, describing her writing as overly personal and blaming her attitude for the rise in the suicide rate of Quebec men.
[9] Shortly after L'Heureux-Dubé's July 2002 retirement from the Supreme Court at the age of 74, she took a Judge in Residence position with Université Laval University in Quebec City.
L'Heureux-Dubé had been chosen to run the pilot project's administrative aspects and recruitment effort because of her devotion to social justice and her legal connections.
L'Heureux-Dubé's report also proposed that transparency in expenditures be increased by forcing all members of the assembly to disclose their benefits, allowances, and indemnities to the public.
[14] As of December 2015, the pay raise was still not implemented, though the transition bonus given to MNAs who leave their office mid-term for any reason had been removed.
[17] In response to email questions from The Globe and Mail, L'Heureux-Dubé also cited the thesis in Israeli judge and legal theorist Aharon Barak's book Proportionality that rights have to be given importance based on society's values.