Jurist, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was an expert in constitutional law and participated in many early cases arising from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982). Born in Montreal, he volunteered at age 18 for service in the Canadian Army from 1943 to 1946. He was a gunner with the 7th Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery and saw action in Holland and Germany during World War II. Later, he obtained a law degree at McGill University in Montreal and was awarded the Gold Medal in his class of 1949. He studied in France, obtaining a Docteur de l’Université from the University of Lyon in 1950. Then he entered private practice in Montreal and later taught law at McGill University. In 1967 he became dean of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto. From 1969 to 1973, he chaired the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs which investigated the role government and courts should take in prohibiting and regulating drugs used mostly for recreational purposes. He was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal and the Court Martial Appeal Court in 1975. On May 29, 1984, he was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada and served until November 30, 1988 when he retired for medical reasons. Justice Le Dain was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1989. He died in Toronto at age 83 and is remembered by many as an intense perfectionist who held himself to the highest standards.  (bio by: Milou)