Lawrence O'Neil
Encyclopedia
Lawrence I. O'Neil is the Associate Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Family Division. He was a lawyer by profession, and between 1984 and 1988, was a Progressive Conservative party
member of the Canadian House of Commons
.
He was elected at Cape Breton Highlands—Canso
electoral district in 1984 federal election
, thus he served in the 33rd Canadian Parliament
. O'Neil was defeated in 1988 federal election
by Francis LeBlanc
of the Liberal party
.
Lawrence I. O'Neil was appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia on September 19th, 2007 by Justice Minister Honourable Robert Nicholson
. The swearing in ceremony took place on October 23rd, 2007 in St. Ninian's Place on the Campus of St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish Nova Scotia.
The appointment proved to be somewhat controversial due to past statements while an MP regarding abortion. On July 27, 1988, in the House of Commons he is reported to having stated that "[i]t appears that there is widespread acceptance of the notion that a mother should have the right to control her body. There is no such right."
Justice O'Neil was a staff lawyer with Nova Scotia Legal Aid in Antigonish at the time of his appointment. He has also practiced with Pickup & MacDowell and as a sole practitioner before going to Legal Aid.
Justice O'Neil was admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1979 after earning a Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University. He had moved on to the Dal Law School in 1976 from St. Francis Xavier University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
member of the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
.
He was elected at Cape Breton Highlands—Canso
Cape Breton Highlands—Canso
Cape Breton Highlands—Canso was a federal electoral district in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1997.-History:...
electoral district in 1984 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
, thus he served in the 33rd Canadian Parliament
33rd Canadian Parliament
The 33rd Canadian Parliament was in session from November 5, 1984 until October 1, 1988. The membership was set by the 1984 federal election on September 4, 1984, and it only changed slightly due to resignations and by-elections prior to being dissolved before the 1988 election.It was controlled...
. O'Neil was defeated in 1988 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
by Francis LeBlanc
Francis LeBlanc
Francis G. LeBlanc was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1997.LeBlanc won the Cape Breton Highlands—Canso electoral district for the Liberal party in the 1988 and 1993 federal elections.The Cape Breton Highlands-Canso riding was redistributed for the 1997 federal election, in...
of the Liberal party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
.
Lawrence I. O'Neil was appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia on September 19th, 2007 by Justice Minister Honourable Robert Nicholson
Rob Nicholson
Robert Douglas "Rob" Nicholson, PC, QC, MP , is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Niagara Falls for the Conservative Party and the current Minister of Justice after serving for one year as...
. The swearing in ceremony took place on October 23rd, 2007 in St. Ninian's Place on the Campus of St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish Nova Scotia.
The appointment proved to be somewhat controversial due to past statements while an MP regarding abortion. On July 27, 1988, in the House of Commons he is reported to having stated that "[i]t appears that there is widespread acceptance of the notion that a mother should have the right to control her body. There is no such right."
Justice O'Neil was a staff lawyer with Nova Scotia Legal Aid in Antigonish at the time of his appointment. He has also practiced with Pickup & MacDowell and as a sole practitioner before going to Legal Aid.
Justice O'Neil was admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1979 after earning a Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University. He had moved on to the Dal Law School in 1976 from St. Francis Xavier University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.