Clayton C. Ruby, C.M. (In Memoriam)

B.A., LL.B., LL.M., LL.D. (honoris causa)
(1942 – 2022)

Considered one of Canada’s leading lawyers, Clayton was at the forefront of criminal, constitutional, and civil rights advocacy for over 50 years. He was a pillar of the progressive community and devoted his entire professional career to ensuring that those who were underprivileged and marginalized were treated fairly and given equal access to justice in Canada. He appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada more than fifty times on landmark cases and fought some of the most challenging miscarriages of justice in this country. His contributions not only transformed Canadian criminal and constitutional law but shaped Canadian society more broadly. 

In addition to his extensive legal practice and advocacy, Clayton was editor of Canadian Rights Reporter (a series of court reports for lawyers focusing on constitutional rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms). He was a member of the Advisory Board of PEN Canada which champions freedom of expression for writers in prison. His published legal writing includes: a seminal textbook for lawyers entitled Sentencing, (now in its 10th edition); and LawLawLaw, 1973. 

In the environmental arena, Clayton was the former Chair of Earthroots and was made an honorary director of EcoJustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund) after serving on its board for many years. He was also a director of the Greenpeace Canada Charitable Foundation. In 2008, he was awarded with the Outstanding Commitment to the Environment Award by Earth Day Canada. 

In late 2005, Clayton served as the acting Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada, for which he served as a Bencher (the governing Board) from 1977 until his retirement.   

In 2006, Clayton was made a Member of the Order of Canada. In addition, he was awarded a rare Doctor of Laws degree (honoris causa) by the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2006 for devoting his career to ensuring that those who are underprivileged and those who face discrimination are given equal access to the legal system of this country. . In 2011, he was given the Pinnacle Achievement Award at the annual Bryden Alumni Awards hosted by York University. In 2012, Mr. Ruby was bestowed with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. 

Many of his cases have been high-profile: 

• He represented Donald Marshall Jr., who spent 11 years in jail after being wrongly convicted of murder, at the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution, which brought wrongful miscarriages of justice under new and more careful scrutiny;

• He negotiated a settlement for the three surviving Dionne quintuplets, who were removed from their parents by the provincial government in 1934 and put on display in Quintland, a commercial theme park designed to boost Ontario’s depression-ravaged economy;

• He also obtained an acquittal for Guy Paul Morin, who was wrongfully accused of murdering a child, at Mr. Morin’s first trial. After subsequent appeals and conviction, Mr. Morin showed by DNA evidence that he could not have committed the offense;

• He was counsel at the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Askov et al, a case that successfully established a constitutional guarantee to a speedy trial, and incidentally resulted in tens of thousands of cases being stayed for unconstitutional delay by the prosecution;

• He successfully fought against discriminatory policies based on sexual orientation in the Canadian military. As a result, in 1992, the Canadian Armed Forces, under Federal Court Order, discarded all discriminatory and restrictive policies regarding the service of gay military personnel;

• He represented Paul Magder in the high-profile conflict-of-interest case against Mayor Rob Ford, which brought the accountability of municipal officials under careful public scrutiny;

• He challenged the B.C. Minister of Advanced Education’s decision to consent to Trinity Western University’s proposed law school, which would require prospective students to abstain from same-sex intimacy. The Minister indicated that he would reconsider his consent on the eve of the hearing and subsequently revoked it.