E.F. Anthony Merchant K.C.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Involved as Counsel in thousands of cases including cases argued at the trial level in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, North Dakota, Montana, Oregon, and the Northwest Territories; trial and appeal cases in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Arizona, and before various Administrative  Tribunals; and cases in the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada, with 1,300 reported cases in leading law journals.
• Received awards on two occasions from the Saskatchewan Action Committee for the Status of Women for exceptional contribution to the development of Court and political equity for women.  Received community service awards on three occasions from the Knights of Columbus.
• Awarded the Queen’s Decoration 1976, the Canadian Long Service Medal 1984, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Decoration 2002, the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal 2005,  the Decoration of Honour in Silver by the Nation of Austria, 2006, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012.
• Awarded on two occasions Eagle Feathers by First Nations in recognition of work on behalf of First Nations and residential school victims, and in 2008 was made an Honorary Chief in a War Bonnet Adoption as a member the Black Foot Confederacy, name Aah-pha su-oy, Flanking Warrior.
• Honorary Consul in Saskatchewan for Austria.
• Western Canadian Corporate Counsel for a number of national firms, Corporate Counsel to a range of corporations, assisted thousands of new Canadians on immigration issues, acts in the development of First Nations Law, and acts extensively in the family law area and class and mass proceedings.
• Broad community involvement over the years in various sports associations, church organizations, the Austrian Edelweiss Club, the Assiniboia Club, the Cub Movement, the Saskatchewan Civil Liberties Association, the MS Society, and the Voice of the Handicapped.
• Lieutenant (retired) in the Navy Reserve and a member of various Naval and Officers’ Clubs.  Active over time in the YMCA Health Club, Queen City Track Club, and Mid-West Karate.
• Lecture and published paper,  Class Actions in Canada, Toronto, March, 2006.
• Barreau du Québec Class Proceedings Conference, Montreal, October, 2008.
• Speaker, 10th National Forum on Class Actions, Toronto, September, 2009.
• University of Ottawa “Environmental Class Actions”, Ottawa, November, 2009.
• Western Canadian Class Actions Conference, (BCLE) Vancouver, November, 2009.
• The Canadian Institute, Class Actions Litigation, Toronto, September, 2010.
• Predominance: Classless, even with Canadian Makeover, Développements Récents En Recours Collectifs Montreal, October, 2010
• University of Toronto, Class Action Seminar, Ragoonan decision, Toronto, March, 2011. 8th National Symposium on Class Actions, Osgoode Hall, Toronto, April, 2011.
• Class Actions in the Construction Industry, Saskatoon, April, 2012
• Rims Canada Conference for Canada, Tomorrow’s Risks Solutions, Saskatoon, September, 2012
• Restricting Spousal Maintenance 1986

 

BACKGROUND/EDUCATION

• 1965 – B.A. (Econ.); 1967 – LL.B. (Juris Doctor); 1984 – D. Admin

 

OCCUPATIONAL HISTORY

• Member of the Canadian Bar Association, 1974
• Member of the American Bar Association, 1987
• Member of the Trial Lawyers Association of America, 1988
• Fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 1994
• Member of the Trial Lawyers Association of Saskatchewan, 1995
• Appointed Queen’s Counsel, 1995
• Associate Editor of the Reports of Family Law (Carswell)
• Member of the Advisory Board of the Canadian Journal of Family Law
• Member of the Advisory Board of the Family Law Journal
• Former Member of the Criminology and Corrections Association
• Former Member of the Canadian Association for the Prevention of Crime
• Lecturer at Bar Admission, CBA, and other professional fora.
• Former Agent for the Solicitor General of Canada
• Former Agent for the Attorney General of Saskatchewan

 

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Admitted to the Bar of Saskatchewan, 1968
• Admitted to the Bar of Alberta, 1976
• Admitted to the Bar of British Columbia, 1977
• Admitted to the Bar of Arizona, 1987

 

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

• Former member of the Boards of Directors of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Team Canada Inc., and BF Realty (formerly Bell Canada Enterprise Development)
• Former Member, Prime Minister’s Council on Asia Pacific
• Former Name with Lloyd’s of London
• Former legal counsel and business advisor to a number of significant corporations, including General Counsel for some years for the Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation

 

PUBLICATIONS

• Class Actions in the Construction Industry in Canada, Construction Law Reports, Fourth Series, Vol. 16 Part 2, February, 2013.
• Lawyers’ Fees and Trend, Osgoode Professional Development 2011
• Predominance: Classless, even with Canadian Makeover, Développements Récents En Recours Collectifs, 2010, Volume 327, Barreau de Québec, P47.
• Développements Récents En Recours Collectifs, 2008, Volume 295, Qu’Appelle – The National Class, page 93.
• Child Custody Practice and Procedures (Carswell), publication July 2006.
• Canadian Institute – Predicting where Causation is Headed, February 2006.
• Suggestions for Practitioners – Child Support Guidelines Reference Manual, Dept. of Justice, Sept. 1997.
• Uncertainty:  Custody Support Mobility – The Plight of Family Law, Canadian Family Law Quarterly, Sept. 1997.
• Introduction to Battle, Child Custody Law & Practice, VI, 1994, Chapter 24, Child Custody and Practice, McLeod, Carswell, 1995.
• Risible Compensation for the Dead Child, Journal of Motor Vehicle Law, Oct. 1995, p. 37.
• The Bankruptcy Dodge, Family Law Quarterly, V9 1993, Sept.  P162.
• The Support Rights of Children Born Outside of Marriage, Family Law Quarterly, V7, #3, May 19, 1991, P359.
• Proposals Relating to Saskatchewan Matrimonial Property Legislation, Family Law Quarterly, V5, #2, May, 1991, P65.
• Numerous Case Notes and Commentaries in various publications.
• Restricting Spousal Maintenance: Danger in Indiscriminate Application

 

POLITICAL

• Former Elected M.L.A. in the Saskatchewan Legislature.
• Alumnus of the International Visitors Leadership Program of the US State Department.
• Past President and Director of a number of Federal Liberal Executives.
• Active volunteer in every Federal Liberal campaign since the 1970s (involved in strategy, fundraising, advertising, and policy formation roles).

 

MEDIA & PUBLIC AFFAIRS

• Former Open-line radio host doing two hour daily public affairs program.
• Former free-lance television interviewer with CBC Regina and Saskatoon.
• Co-ordinator of all radio and television communications for the Liberal Party in the Federal and Provincial Elections of 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1991, doing actual creation and artistic work and a member of the strategy and speech writing Committee in the 1982,  1986, and 1997 elections.