Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Former Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin is the U of T Faculty of Lawís 2002 Distinguished Alumnus Award winner. Martin was honoured last night (Nov. 21) before a packed audience at U of Tís Hart House, surrounded by more than 350 classmates and fellow graduates of the law school.

ìPaul Martin embodies the spirit and ideals of the Faculty of Law and we are delighted to honour him in this way,î said Ron Daniels, dean of the Faculty of Law. ìHis lifelong commitment to public service is a credit to the Faculty of Law and an inspiration to all Canadians.î

A 1964 graduate of the law school, Martin has been a Member of Parliament for LaSalle-…mard, Que., since 1988. He was finance minister from 1993 to 2002. Among his numerous achievements, he was the inaugural chair of the G-20, an international body that provides a forum to discuss the challenges of managing the world economy to the benefit of both developed and developing nations.

Paul Martin joins an esteemed list of past recipients of the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Winners have included former Chief Justice of Canadaís Supreme Court, the Right Hon. Bora Laskin (1982); distinguished lawyer and former Ontario Chief Justice, the Hon. Charles Dubin (1988); Faculty of Law Prof. Emeritus, the late J. Bruce Dunlop; Ontario Appeal Court judge, the Hon. Madam Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella (1996); and former Supreme Court Justice, the Hon. John Sopinka (awarded posthumously, 1998).