Helen Kinnear
Helen Kinnear | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | Cayuga, Ontario | May 6, 1894
Died | April 25, 1970 Port Colborne, Ontario | (aged 75)
Nationality | Canadian |
Education | Osgoode Hall Law School |
Helen Alice Kinnear,
Early life
Kinnear was born in Cayuga, Ontario, Canada.[1][2][3] Her father, Louis Kinnear, was well-known lawyer who practiced in Port Colborne and Welland County.[4] She graduated from the University of Toronto.[5] Afterward she attended Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario bar, to become a lawyer, in 1920.[1]
Career
Kinnear practised law in
In 1934, she became the first woman in the British Commonwealth to be created a King's Counsel.[1][2][3] In 1935, she became the first female lawyer in Canada to appear before the Supreme Court of Canada.[2][4]
Politics
Kinnear was an active member of the
Judge
In 1943, Kinnear was appointed county-court judge for Haldimand County, becoming the first woman in Canadian history to be appointed a judge by the federal government.[2][4] Kinnear saw the appointment as not just a personal victory, but a victory for women.[5] In 1947 she was appointed judge of the Juvenile Court. She was the first woman in the Commonwealth appointed to a county-court bench. When she attended a Commonwealth and Empire Law conference in 1955, she was noted as the "only woman in the Commonwealth to have been made a county court judge".[5]
Royal Commissions
In 1954, Kinnear was appointed to two
Retirement
Kinnear retired from her role as a judge in 1961 because of illness and moved back to Port Colborne.[2] Kinnear, who never married, lived with her sister Jennie.[5] Kinnear died on April 25, 1970, in Port Colborne.[2][6]
Legacy
In 1965, Kinnear was awarded a medallion from the
In 1993 Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp to honour Kinnear's achievements.[2]
Kinnear House
Kinnear House was Helen Kinnear's residence from 1904 to 1942. The house was built by lawyer Louis Kinnear in 1904.
In 1999, Kinnear House, situated at 232 Clarence Street, Port Colborne, was added to the database of Heritage Port Colborne's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee for the purpose of publicizing Kinnear's residence as a noteworthy local property.
References
- ^ a b c d e "Born on this day...May 6, 1894 – Helen Kinnear". Law Society of Upper Canada. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 9780313294105.
- ^ a b "Know Your Canada". Waterloo Chronicle. August 13, 1959. p. 2. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c Aikenhead, Helen (May 7, 1954). "News & Views". Waterloo Chronicle. p. 6. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9781782251118.
- Newspapers.com.