The Honourable Ian Binnie - Biography and Mandate

The Honourable Ian Binnie served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1998 to 2011 and is currently a Toronto-based lawyer. During his time on the country’s top court, Mr. Binnie worked on landmark cases, including constitutional, criminal and administrative law appeals.

Prior to his work at the Supreme Court, Mr. Binnie served as Canada’s Associate Deputy Minister of Justice from 1982 to 1986. He was later appointed as Special Parliamentary Counsel to the Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons on the Meech Lake Accord. Among other significant cases, he appeared as counsel before the International Court of Justice as Canada’s representative in high-profile disputes involving France and the U.S.

Mr. Binnie graduated from Trinity College School in 1957 and McGill University in 1960. He studied law at Cambridge University and the University of Toronto. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1967, practiced private law until 1982, and resumed this practice in 1986.

Mr. Binnie will provide the Minister of Justice and the Department with operational and policy advice on the provision of advisory and litigation services to clients. He will also provide advice on the implementation of recommendations made by the National Security and Intelligence and Review Agency (NSIRA) as they pertain to Justice Canada.