[1] Bowman's predecessor as Chief Justice was Alban Garon, who was murdered along with his wife and their neighbour by an unsuccessful litigant whose appeal had been dismissed.
He joined the Federal Department of Justice, Tax Litigation Section in 1962 and was appointed its Director in 1968.
Many of his judgments are still frequently cited and are appreciated as much for their clarity and depth of analysis as for their uniquely "Bowmanesque" readability.
[4][5] He was also fluent in German, and as an example of his writing style, in his very last judgment from the Court, in expressing his lack of support for the Canada Revenue Agency’s position, he inserted a line from the Friedrich Schiller play The Maid of Orleans in its original German that translates as “Against stupidity, the gods themselves battle in vain” – leaving it for mere tax mortals reading his decision to look up the English translation for themselves.
Bowman National Tax Moot, was launched in 2011 by Timothy Fitzsimmons and Dr. Emir Crowne and named in his honour.