Grant Huscroft named to the Ontario Court of Appeal; Rob Frater appointed a QC

As Queen’s Law alumni ring in the New Year, two members of the class of ‘84 have been recognized for their distinguished leadership in the legal profession.

Grant Huscroft, Law’84, was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal on December 17. An administrative and constitutional law scholar, Huscroft is also a co-editor, with Queen’s Law professor Grégoire Webber, of Proportionality and the Rule of Law: Rights, Justification, Reasoning, published by Cambridge University Press in 2014.

“Grant Huscroft's public law research has been published by the best university presses and journals,” Webber said. “I welcome the recognition of academic scholarship captured by his appointment to the Ontario Court of Appeal."

Justice Huscroft joins the Honourable Katherine van Rensburg, Law’81, the Honourable Jean L MacFarland, Law’71, and the Honourable David Watt, Law’70, as Queen’s Law alumni on the Court.

In a second milestone for the class of ’84, on December 11, the Government of Canada appointed Rob Frater, Law’84, to the Queen’s Counsel (QC). The individuals who receive this honour are “are members of the federal public service who have demonstrated leadership in their professional lives, raised esteem for the legal profession, and made outstanding contributions to the development of the law”, designated on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice and an advisory committee.

Frater’s appointment was granted even more resonance by being conferred on the anniversary of the Statute of Westminster, which became law on December 11, 1931 and granted Canada greater legal and foreign policy autonomy.

This is just the latest in a series of distinctions for Frater – following his academic career at Queen’s, he served as counsel for the federal Crown before the Supreme Court of Canada on more than 50 cases. His federal work has included the Senate Reference, the Securities Regulator reference and the Harkat security certificate case.

“I’m delighted,” Frater says. “The federal QCs were just reinstituted last year, and it’s nice to be acknowledged in this way.”