Queen’s Law recently welcomed the Hon. John Gerretsen, MPP, Law ’67 (Arts ’64), Attorney General of Ontario and former mayor of Kingston. In the Q&A with students about his experience in law and politics, he spanned a variety of topics ranging from the role of his current ministry to climate change concerns.
Beginning his career in his Kingston hometown, Gerretsen set up his law practice in 1971. He was elected to municipal council in 1973 and served as mayor from 1980 to 1988. For the 26 years since then, he has represented Kingston and the Islands in the Ontario Legislature and has served Liberal governments in a variety of ministerial positions, including Municipal Affairs, Environment, and Consumer Services.
Gerretsen, who’s retiring before the next provincial election, has been serving since 2011 as Attorney General -- the guardian of the rule of law and chief superintendent of the justice system in Ontario. He described his office’s main function as “the administration of justice, and that basically means operating all of the courts in Ontario.” His Ministry plays an important role in the appellate process by deciding which cases should proceed to appellate courts. Gerretsen and his staff are also responsible for providing legal advice to the government on issues related to the law, including the Charter.
During the session, Gerretsen shared what he believed to be the province’s greatest challenges: climate change and income distribution. “After serving as Minister of the Environment,” he said, “I truly believe that one of the greatest issues we face is climate change. We have a shared responsibility to preserve the environment for future generations, in cooperation with developing countries.” On income distribution, he pointed to a widening income gap and disparity within our society as a major ongoing concern, particularly in the context of access to justice.
Improving people’s access to justice is the responsibility of lawyers, he believes. “I also think there’s an obligation in our legal system to ensure that the people have access to proper representation,” he said, “and quite frankly that is diminishing all the time.”
Another question for Gerretsen was about his start as a sole practitioner in Kingston and its influence on his career today. He began by reminding his audience that then, as now, clients come looking for answers from the law, not to be precedents in case books. As for his past affecting his role today, he sees “a natural correlation between doing a lot of law in a particular area and seeing the need for changes in particular areas.”
He expressed his optimism about the future in Ontario. In both the provincial legislature and on municipal councils, he pointed out, greater diversity -- both economic and social – is having a positive impact on law-making.