|
|
In Conversation with Gloria Epstein In conjunction with the Toronto Lawyers’ Association Award of Distinction presentation in Toronto on February 29, 2024, at Ricarda’s, Evan Thompson spoke with The Honourable Gloria J. Epstein K.C, this year’s Award recipient. |
TLA: Were you attracted to the legal profession at an early age?
Gloria Epstein: Set on a business career, I attended Queen’s University and studied commerce. I had no interest in law until a few years later, during which time I actually owned and operated a business – a fishing camp. After graduation, my partner at the time, also a Queen’s Commerce grad, and I drove to Lake Temagami to start our business career.
Needless to say, business opportunities on a lake in the far north were limited but as it happened a fishing camp came up for sale on one of the lake’s 1800 islands. And so, what we thought was to be our careers in business, started. We borrowed money from our deceased fathers’ estates and bought The Camp Manito Hotel.
Running the camp year-round with no experience and working seven days a week was far from easy. After 10 months, David decided to leave for BC to live as a hermit. He asked me to join him. As intriguing a prospect as that was, I had to say no. First, I could not see myself as a hermit. Second, there were many commitments associated with the camp. So, I stayed in Temagami. (By the way, David, remains a hermit, and a close friend.)
Living on the Lake and running the camp was a rich experience. Most of my employees were Ojibwa from nearby Bear Island. They were hard working and loyal. Many became friends. I will never forget the Sundays in the winter going out on our snowmobiles to check trap lines, with Chief Gary Potts. After the work was done we would stop in the middle of the lake (ice). Gary would build a fire and make tea. In that idyllic environment, we discussed his dreams of pursuing a land claim on behalf of the Bear Island Ojibwa. Gary’s vision and tenacity led to the filing of land claims that ultimately gave his First Nation control of portions of the Temagami forest properties.
As interesting and rewarding as those days were, after a few more years of running the camp, it was time to move on. This meant I had to get rid of the business. I turned to my brother-in-law, who was a lawyer. He provided not only legal advice (in the form of a quit claim deed) but also moral support. It was then that I realized the potential of a career in law.
Having not read a book in years, it was with some considerable trepidation that I went to North Bay to write my LSATs. Upon being notified that I had been accepted into U of T law, I wondered if someone had made a clerical error. But I decided to see if my new dream had actually come true and purchased a bus ticket to Toronto. I arrived with 17 dollars in my pocket – not enough to get a room. So, I went to the Sheraton Centre and got a job that day as a cocktail server. By 1:00 the next morning I had sufficient funds to rent a one room flat. That summer I earned enough to pay for my tuition, and during most of law school, my job at the Sheraton Centre and additional time as a coat check person financed my first few years as a law student.
TLA: Can you share some moments in your career that brought you great satisfaction despite personal and external challenges?
Gloria Epstein: Being a litigation lawyer was enormously satisfying. I worked with and learned from great lawyers. But it was the judicial part of my career that was the most satisfying.
In the early days as a judge, I was drawn to help people with problems that most affected them and so I requested an assignment to sit in family law under the stewardship of the wonderful Justice George Wallace. On the Friday of my first week something career changing, in fact, life changing, happened in the form of a file on my desk – one file in a stack I was to deal with that day. That file is now well known as M. v. H.
At first, I thought that the matter was just another motion for interim support. I reasoned that even with just a few days’ experience I would not likely have much difficulty with something so relatively simple. Then, the shoe dropped. That shoe was the reality that, at the time, Ontario law defined a common-law relationship as a heterosexual one. As a result, this couple, a same-sex couple, had no access to the support provisions under the Family Law Act.
At the time, the case management system dictated that I effectively owned the case – a case that would change many lives. Mine was one of them.
The case took a long time to get through the courts for many reasons, most notably a change in the provincial government and correspondingly a change in the government’s position in the matter. As it turned out, my sister died of breast cancer two weeks before the hearing date. I should have adjourned the matter. But it had been delayed too long and I had a job to do. So, the hearing went ahead. Given my emotional state, the complexity of the arguments and the significance of the outcome, M. v. H. became the most challenging decision I ever wrote.
I finally released M. v. H.. I held that s. 29 of the Family Law Act was of no force and effect to the extent that it excluded same-sex couples from its definition of “spouse”. I severed the words “a man and a woman” from s. 29 of the Act, and in their place substituted the words “two persons”.
Many disagreed with my decision. It not only attracted some very uncomplimentary press but also brought threats of violence against me. Notwithstanding the many criticisms, I never doubted the legitimacy of the result.
I knew that M. v. H. would not end with me: it was destined to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Court of Appeal upheld by decision with one dissent. In its decision of May 20, 1999, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Court of Appeal. As a result, over 1,000 laws in Canada had to be rewritten.
M. v. H. has had a significant impact on the Canadian landscape and in Canada’s leadership internationally in progress related to human rights.
The case has also had a significant impact on my life - the most notable being my being asked by leaders of Toronto’s LGBTQ2S+ communities and the Toronto Police Services Board to conduct the Board’s Independent Civilian Review into Missing Person Investigations following the disappearance of many gay men in downtown Toronto. This was a request I could not refuse, even if it meant I would have to resign from the Court of Appeal. My decision to resign from the Court was incredibly difficult. I cherished my 25 years as a judge, but I felt I had more to contribute elsewhere.
My talented Missing Persons Review team and I worked for several years examining the relationship between the Toronto Police Service and various marginalized communities. I met the most interesting people. I learned a great deal from them. I have often said that if I had conducted the Review before becoming a judge, I would have been a better judge.
After I released my report, I wondered if it was time to put my slippers on. In musing about that with the wonderful Terry O’Sullivan, his response was, “Gloria, I am sure you don’t even own a pair of slippers.” He was, of course, right. And my career continued.
TLA: What are you working on these days?
Gloria Epstein: I am happily ensconced at Arbitration Place, working with talented members of our profession helping people resolve their disputes in an alternative manner. I am again privileged to be learning from, and to be helping others.
Other opportunities have opened up, such as participating in a program in which human rights are discussed with members of the Ukrainian Bar Association. When Doug Elliott first asked me to become involved, I immediately said yes and expressed the hope that the course would involve my travelling to Ukraine. Sadly, that was not in the cards. The experience was still enormously enriching. The participants were committed to improving human rights in Ukraine, a commitment that has been both empowered and impeded by the war. In Ukraine, members of same sex unions are not allowed to marry. This means that same sex partners of those killed in the war have no access to the remains of their loved ones and no access to their pensions. During the time in which the war has raged on, the Ukrainian people have pressured the government to change the law. But that that cannot happen as the country’s constitution does not permit changes to the existing law during wartime. This unfortunate situation is yet another casualty of that terrible war.
TLA: What else has shaped your life and made you the person you are?
Gloria Epstein: I am fortunate to be where I am because of the people who have blessed my life. I start with my family. My mother was one of 17 children. As a child she had serious health issues and so while in grade 3 she was taken out of school to help look after the family. She became the nanny and much was expected of her. In turn, she expected much of my sister, brother and me.
My father, a small-town country boy raised in a very religious Baptist family, made it to grade 12. He was very smart and had superb people skills. Everyone loved and admired my dad. Our household centred on values rather than material things. It also centred on being self-sufficient and strong.
That strength was enhanced through many challenging times, the most significant being the sudden death of my father and the death of my sister – both at a young age.
This takes me to those who deserve a standing ovation – the members of my immediate family. My oldest son, Scott is an entrepreneur in the wine industry and lives in Tofino. He and his wife serve as constant reminders of thoughtful lifestyle choices. Rather than battling traffic to get their kids to sports events, they walk down to the beach and the family goes for a surf.
Then there is my second son John Adair – well known to most of the litigation bar. My favorite story about John relates to the many times Court colleagues and other leaders at the Bar (who don’t know John is my son) have asked, and continue to ask me if I have even worked with John Adair. Predictably I say no – with an equally predictable smile on my face. Before I can explain that it is unlikely ever to happen, I hear “just you wait. What an experience you will have, working with one of the most outstanding young litigators I have seen in a long time, if ever”.
Then there is my daughter, Lauren. After graduating from Harvard, earning her MBA at Rotman School of Business, and a law degree at U of T, Lauren clerked at the Court of Appeal. She then went to Lax O’Sullivan. After a few years of practising law, she made the brave decision to leave law and go into business on her own. She is now an entrepreneur who provides business strategy advice to create and maximize opportunities in the innovation ecosystem.
My children inspire me with their insight, their wisdom and their courage.
Last, but certainly not least is the Law Society’s longest serving lay bencher, my husband, Seymour. My husband’s incredible intellect and unwavering devotion have long served as both my stabilizers and my rudder.
I have also been blessed by my connection with leaders of our profession, many of whom became mentors and friends.
Once in law school, I was inspired by great scholars, several of whom became friends, the most noteworthy being one of my heroes, Professor John Swan, now Professor Angela Swan. John Sopinka opened important doors when he hired me as an articling student at the firm then known as Fasken and Calvin.
At Faskens, I worked with and learned so much from greats such as Walter Williston and Ron Rolls. Paul Lamek lured me away from Faskens to join Fraser and Beatty, now Dentons. During those early years as a fledgling litigator I was privileged to be working on briefs with the likes of Doug Laidlaw, Alan Lenczner and Earl Cherniak. These great talents befriended me and taught me. But they also gave me no quarter: much was expected of me. Flawless research. Impeccable drafting. Hard work. The long hours took their toll, especially as during those early days I gave birth to two of my three children. That takes me to another of my great mentors, my then-husband, Geoff Adair.
There were, of course, more. So many more. Both Susan Lang, a dear friend for over 50 years, talented lawyer, jurist and a great contributor to our community, and her much-celebrated husband Pat LeSage, inspired me and supported me. Patrick gave me a life-altering opportunity when he allowed me to take time away from the Superior Court to head the Review into the Ontario Government’s handling of the Dionne quintuplet finances. Working on the Quintuplet Review gave me not only a unique opportunity to study a fascinating part of Ontario’s history but also to work with and learn from one of Canada’s premier litigators, Chris Paliare.
More recently, I had the privilege of partnering with the multi-talented Mark Sandler, lead counsel in the Missing Persons Review. All of these outstanding members of our profession, and others, have significantly inspired me as a lawyer and as a member of our community.
I must mention my wealth of friends who have stood by me through thick and thin. There has been a great deal of both. They have put up with my myriad of idiosyncrasies mostly manifested by my inability to get my life under control. Consistent with the “hope springs eternal” theory, they continue to be my friends.
TLA: What personal strengths do you believe successful lawyers share?
Gloria Epstein: Ineloquently, I say you have to “dig” people. What I mean, of course, is that you have to be really interested in other people. That interest is essential to being a good listener, which in turn is essential to being a successful lawyer. So too is having good judgment, attention to detail, and perseverance. It helps a lot to have the inner strength to enable you to work hard and under pressure. I add creative thinking and a sense of humour. Having a sense of humour helps a lot – to be able to laugh with others and at yourself.
TLA: Do you have any advice for aspiring litigation lawyers about how to begin their journey?
Gloria Epstein: I can offer several thoughts. Examine yourself closely. Try to develop a good understanding of your goals in life – beyond financial ones. Try to identify the environment in which you would like to work – a large firm, a corporate environment, your own shop, a city, in the country. Try to remain agile. Don’t get stuck in a place that is not optimal for you.
Identify potential mentors. (I would be nowhere without the mentors I have mentioned to you and many others who have helped me along the path to where I am today)
Remember that every day is a day to learn – mainly about people. It is the core of a career in law of any nature. This is why my involvement as head of the Missing Persons Review turned out to be my most impactful professional learning opportunity. The people who live in Toronto’s marginalized and vulnerable communities opened doors I didn’t know existed and opened my eyes. Spending a day with sex workers at Maggie’s Place, with Toronto’s Indigenous people in their community centres, and with York University students heavily involved in Black Lives Matter, provided me with an education I could not have foreseen. The conversations with members of Toronto’s marginalized and vulnerable groups not only were one of the pillars of my Review research but also added to my lifelong education.