Fonds PF53 - Aubrey Golden fonds

Aubrey Edward Golden was born in Toronto on 9 August 1934. He attended University College at the University of Toronto, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1955. He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School, was certified as a specialist in civil litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1989, and in 1990 completed graduate studies for his Master of Laws degree from York University with specialization in constitutional law and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Golden was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1959, appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1980, and practiced as a general counsel until his retirement as a lawyer in 2004. He worked alone on civil and criminal cases during 1959 and 1960 before becoming involved with a succession of firms: Sher, Loftus, Golden and Goodman, 1960-1966; his own firm with associate counsel, 1966-1974; Golden, Levinson, 1975-1983; Golden, Green & Chercover, 1983-1997; Golden & Company, 1997-2001; and in association with Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish, 2002-2004. His work focussed on constitutional, labour, environmental, and administrative law, with a strong interest in civil liberties and public interest cases. Golden was particularly active among labour unions (by 1983, Golden and Martin Levison ran the largest labour law firm in Canada), and he took a lead role in development of collective bargaining for professionals working in the areas of education, science, and engineering. He also represented farmer organizations and Native groups in their disputes with government agencies, commissions, and private parties, which led his call to the Bar in Prince Edward Island in 1971, Alberta in 1972, the Northwest Territories in 1981, and Nunavut in 1999. These cases brought Golden before trial and appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, to contest issues such as federal anti-inflation legislation, provincial funding for separate schools, and the constitutionality of trespass laws. Golden's cases also brought him before labour relations tribunals, parliamentary and legislative committees, and municipal councils and committees. He was particularly active in public affairs, serving as the National Chairman of the Canadian Bar Association's Survey Committee on Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping from 1965 to 1967 and its Civil Liberties Section from 1967 to 1969 (also serving on the CBA's Council during these years), as Chairman of its Administrative Law Section from 1984 to 1985, and as Chairman of the National Lawyers Committee of the Coalition Against the Return of the Death Penalty in 1987. Golden was a member of a committee of five citizens responsible for mediating a resolution to the seizure of the Kingston Penitentiary by inmates in 1971, and was appointed by the Minister of Labour to a conciliation board to resolve a strike of air traffic controllers in Canada in 1974. He was also active in politics, preparing policy documents and speaking at conferences of the National Liberal Federation from 1961 to 1969, when he ran for the national council of the New Democratic Party. He served as advisor and counsel for the caucus of Ontario's New Democratic Party until 1978. Golden's career reflected a literary inclination, beginning with his work as editor of the first issue of the "Gargoyle," the newspaper of University College, while an undergraduate. He co-authored "Rumours of war" with Ron Haggart in 1971 (a second edition was published in 1976), which examined the suspension of civil liberties in Canada when the government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act during crisis sparked by Front de Liberation du Quebec. Golden wrote a column on legal issues for "The Toronto star," contributed to magazines such as "Maclean's" and "Saturday night," was a commentator on CBC current affairs programming such as "Viewpoint," and was a frequent speaker on issues involving constitutional reform, collective bargaining, public affairs, censorship, and the freedom to read. In partnership with James Lorimer, Golden revived the public affairs magazine, "The Canadian forum : an independent journal of opinion and the arts," in 1987, serving as Chairman and Director for Canadian Forum Limited. He was a member of the Writers' Union of Canada from 1971 to 2001, and the Canadian section of International PEN from 1988, serving on its Censorwatch committee. Aubrey Golden worked as a part-time lecturer at York University from 1967 to 1969, lecturing on industrial relations in the Master of Business Administration program, and provided instruction in advocacy at the Advocates Society Institute from 1988 to 1995 (he joined the society in 1966). He currently operates Golden Mediation Services, a firm he established in 1997 to mediate private and public interest disputes involving employment law, defamation, human rights, constitutional and administrative law, aboriginal rights, and environmental and natural resource issues. Golden also served as a member and past chair of the Toronto Licensing Tribunal.