On April 11th, 1950, almost 17 months after Canadian lawyer John Peters
Humphrey drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , James D. Harbic was
born in Canada's capital city. His father was a university chemistry professor while his
mother stayed home and raised James and his sister Patricia as well as his two
younger brothers Robert and Peter. James early formal education was unremarkable .
He attended Ridgmont High School in Alta Vista, a suburb in Ottawa where he played
defensive end on the varsity football team and was a member of the School Debating
Society.
Perhaps a defining moment happened when James was disciplined for coming to
the defence of a fellow student who was being humiliated for a deformity. Three
years later upon his graduation, his English teacher paraphrased Paul Simon and
wrote in the school year book: "In the clearing stands a boxer ....and his name is
James Harbic"
From a young age, James enjoyed reading about Hyperides, Demosthenes, Cicero,
Saint Ivo Helory of Kermartin, Sir Thomas More, Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln,
Clarence Darrow and Gandhi. He developed an interest in human rights and civil
liberties. In the early sixties, as the Ottawa Correspondent for the Whitehorse Daily
Star, he interviewed John Diefenbaker whose government enacted the first Canadian
Bill of Rights.
As the youngest member ever of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, James witnessed
the brilliant speech of Arthur Maloney in the House of Commons advocating the
abolition of the death penalty. He also covered the convention that elected Pierre
Trudeau as leader of the Federal Liberals whose government would initiate the
legislation that finally abolished the death penalty in Canada and amended the
Canadian Constitution to include a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
While attending the University of Ottawa, James experienced the suspension of
civil liberties first hand. Soldiers arrested suspects at the bilingual campus pursuant
to the declaration of the War Measure's Act which was the government's response to
the FLQ Crisis. This tyrannical action motivated James, along with 21 fellow students,
to campaign for equal educational rights for Ontario Francophones at "The New Wave"
Tory Convention in 1971 which elected William Davis.
It was a very nervous James Harbic,who addressed the delegates in Maple Leaf
Gardens and Canadians on National TV. Earlier that day his life, and those of his
fellow volunteer students had been threatened. The reports by a Toronto radio
station suggested the threats were made by anti-French bigots. The threats were
taken seriously as four O.P.P. Officers were assigned to protect them. The theme of
James' speech was the importance of respecting the educational rights of
Francophones so that they would have the same opportunities as Anglophones in
Quebec.
The delegates responded with a standing ovation. More importantly, he was
approached by the new leader William Davis,who assured him:"that you are right .....
some day francophone will share equal educational rights in this province" In 1984,
shortly before he retired as Premier of Ontario, Mr Davis "startled" the province by
initiating legislation that finally provided equal educational rights for francophones.
In addition to studying at the University of Ottawa James also studied at Dalhousie
and Saskatchewan Universities as well as Osgoode Hall where he was called to the
Bar of Ontario on April 19th, 1978.Upon completion of his formal education James
travelled extensively across North America as well as to Europe In 1981 he ran in the
National Capital Marathon in a respectful 3 hours fifty-eight minutes and fifty-six
seconds. He was married on April 2nd 1982 to Claire. They have two sons Robert and
John who are both presently studying at university. The family summers at their
cottage at Long Lake, Quebec.
James has been a sessional lecturer on substantive criminal law, evidence,
advocacy, ethics and criminal procedures at the Faculty of Law University of Ottawa,
Carleton University, Algonquin College as well as lecturing to police cadets and to
candidates to the Ontario Bar Program. He has also sat on continuing education
panels dealing with Human Rights and Civil Liberties issues.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms became part of the Constitution on April 17th,
1982. The following year James successfully pleaded one of the first "Charter" based
constitutional Appellate challenges to federal legislation. R. v Bryant became a
landmark decision in which the Ontario Court of Appeal declared that the "Charter"
recognized that Canadians had constitutional rights that the courts would give effect
to. The legacy of "Charter" case law that has followed has been applied throughout
the world and has earned for Canada an international reputation for human rights and
civil liberties jurisprudence.
James first book , "Profiles in Nobility" identifies the framers of Canadian values of
human rights and equality. It was published in 1992 and was distributed throughout
Canada. In 1998 during the Centennial of The Klondike Gold Rush he paddled down
the Yukon River between Bonanza Creek and Fortymile with his eldest son Robert.
On July 14th, 2000 James won the first acquittal, on a double murder case in the new
millennium, when his client was found not guilty after a seven month long trial in
Perth Ontario.
In 2004 Staff -Sgt. Lengacher, on behalf of the Ottawa Police Force, promised "to
learn from it's mistakes" after The Superior Court of Ontario, accepted the
submissions of Defence Counsel Harbic, and ruled that the method employed by the
police to obtain a confession from his client was an "oppressive tactic that breached
the constitutional rights of a man accused of murder"and was therefore involuntary
and inadmissible.
James has been a trial lawyer for over 33 years appearing in courts at all levels
throughout Ontario and Quebec. Some of his more prominent cases have attracted
both national and international attention. He has represented over 10,000 persons on
criminal charges including many jury trials as well as 31 homicide cases.
James Harbic is committed to defending the constitutional rights of his clients. He
has never refused a legal aid brief because he believes "all persons are entitled to
the best defence possible". He is a member of Amnesty International and the Ottawa
Defence Counsel Association. James has never applied to be appointed to any court,
board or tribunal. He believes that "defending a person' s constitutional rights
including the right to a fair trial is the most rewarding work that a lawyer can be
called upon to do".
(Based on articles by John Mclean, Canadian Press {1966}; John Waugh, Toronto
Telegram(1971); Stephen Bindman, Southam News (1984); Les McLaughlin, Scrum,
Parliamentary Press Gallery News Letter(1996);James Marsh, editor, Canadian
Encylopedia at p.1717 (2000) and Jake Rupert, Ottawa Citizen(2004).)
Humphrey drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , James D. Harbic was
born in Canada's capital city. His father was a university chemistry professor while his
mother stayed home and raised James and his sister Patricia as well as his two
younger brothers Robert and Peter. James early formal education was unremarkable .
He attended Ridgmont High School in Alta Vista, a suburb in Ottawa where he played
defensive end on the varsity football team and was a member of the School Debating
Society.
Perhaps a defining moment happened when James was disciplined for coming to
the defence of a fellow student who was being humiliated for a deformity. Three
years later upon his graduation, his English teacher paraphrased Paul Simon and
wrote in the school year book: "In the clearing stands a boxer ....and his name is
James Harbic"
From a young age, James enjoyed reading about Hyperides, Demosthenes, Cicero,
Saint Ivo Helory of Kermartin, Sir Thomas More, Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln,
Clarence Darrow and Gandhi. He developed an interest in human rights and civil
liberties. In the early sixties, as the Ottawa Correspondent for the Whitehorse Daily
Star, he interviewed John Diefenbaker whose government enacted the first Canadian
Bill of Rights.
As the youngest member ever of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, James witnessed
the brilliant speech of Arthur Maloney in the House of Commons advocating the
abolition of the death penalty. He also covered the convention that elected Pierre
Trudeau as leader of the Federal Liberals whose government would initiate the
legislation that finally abolished the death penalty in Canada and amended the
Canadian Constitution to include a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
While attending the University of Ottawa, James experienced the suspension of
civil liberties first hand. Soldiers arrested suspects at the bilingual campus pursuant
to the declaration of the War Measure's Act which was the government's response to
the FLQ Crisis. This tyrannical action motivated James, along with 21 fellow students,
to campaign for equal educational rights for Ontario Francophones at "The New Wave"
Tory Convention in 1971 which elected William Davis.
It was a very nervous James Harbic,who addressed the delegates in Maple Leaf
Gardens and Canadians on National TV. Earlier that day his life, and those of his
fellow volunteer students had been threatened. The reports by a Toronto radio
station suggested the threats were made by anti-French bigots. The threats were
taken seriously as four O.P.P. Officers were assigned to protect them. The theme of
James' speech was the importance of respecting the educational rights of
Francophones so that they would have the same opportunities as Anglophones in
Quebec.
The delegates responded with a standing ovation. More importantly, he was
approached by the new leader William Davis,who assured him:"that you are right .....
some day francophone will share equal educational rights in this province" In 1984,
shortly before he retired as Premier of Ontario, Mr Davis "startled" the province by
initiating legislation that finally provided equal educational rights for francophones.
In addition to studying at the University of Ottawa James also studied at Dalhousie
and Saskatchewan Universities as well as Osgoode Hall where he was called to the
Bar of Ontario on April 19th, 1978.Upon completion of his formal education James
travelled extensively across North America as well as to Europe In 1981 he ran in the
National Capital Marathon in a respectful 3 hours fifty-eight minutes and fifty-six
seconds. He was married on April 2nd 1982 to Claire. They have two sons Robert and
John who are both presently studying at university. The family summers at their
cottage at Long Lake, Quebec.
James has been a sessional lecturer on substantive criminal law, evidence,
advocacy, ethics and criminal procedures at the Faculty of Law University of Ottawa,
Carleton University, Algonquin College as well as lecturing to police cadets and to
candidates to the Ontario Bar Program. He has also sat on continuing education
panels dealing with Human Rights and Civil Liberties issues.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms became part of the Constitution on April 17th,
1982. The following year James successfully pleaded one of the first "Charter" based
constitutional Appellate challenges to federal legislation. R. v Bryant became a
landmark decision in which the Ontario Court of Appeal declared that the "Charter"
recognized that Canadians had constitutional rights that the courts would give effect
to. The legacy of "Charter" case law that has followed has been applied throughout
the world and has earned for Canada an international reputation for human rights and
civil liberties jurisprudence.
James first book , "Profiles in Nobility" identifies the framers of Canadian values of
human rights and equality. It was published in 1992 and was distributed throughout
Canada. In 1998 during the Centennial of The Klondike Gold Rush he paddled down
the Yukon River between Bonanza Creek and Fortymile with his eldest son Robert.
On July 14th, 2000 James won the first acquittal, on a double murder case in the new
millennium, when his client was found not guilty after a seven month long trial in
Perth Ontario.
In 2004 Staff -Sgt. Lengacher, on behalf of the Ottawa Police Force, promised "to
learn from it's mistakes" after The Superior Court of Ontario, accepted the
submissions of Defence Counsel Harbic, and ruled that the method employed by the
police to obtain a confession from his client was an "oppressive tactic that breached
the constitutional rights of a man accused of murder"and was therefore involuntary
and inadmissible.
James has been a trial lawyer for over 33 years appearing in courts at all levels
throughout Ontario and Quebec. Some of his more prominent cases have attracted
both national and international attention. He has represented over 10,000 persons on
criminal charges including many jury trials as well as 31 homicide cases.
James Harbic is committed to defending the constitutional rights of his clients. He
has never refused a legal aid brief because he believes "all persons are entitled to
the best defence possible". He is a member of Amnesty International and the Ottawa
Defence Counsel Association. James has never applied to be appointed to any court,
board or tribunal. He believes that "defending a person' s constitutional rights
including the right to a fair trial is the most rewarding work that a lawyer can be
called upon to do".
(Based on articles by John Mclean, Canadian Press {1966}; John Waugh, Toronto
Telegram(1971); Stephen Bindman, Southam News (1984); Les McLaughlin, Scrum,
Parliamentary Press Gallery News Letter(1996);James Marsh, editor, Canadian
Encylopedia at p.1717 (2000) and Jake Rupert, Ottawa Citizen(2004).)
| James Harbic, B.A., B.L., J.D., Short Biography |
| By Mail: Suite 1002, 200 Elgin St Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1L5 By Phone: Office : (613) 235-4365 Home : (613) 738-4721 By Fax: (613) 688-1212 By E-mail: jd@harbic.com |
To Contact James
