[Includes excerpts from Ian Mulgrew's June 11, 2009 Vancouver Sun article.]

The Honourable Chief Justice Donald Brenner has resigned after serving nine years as British Columbia’s Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

On Thursday, June 11, 2009, Chief Justice Brenner announced, "After seventeen years as a judge of the Supreme Court of BC, including the last nine years as chief justice, I have decided it is now an appropriate time for me to step down. I will be leaving our Court on September 7, 2009."

Chief Justice Brenner was appointed Chief Justice in May 2000, replacing The Honourable Bryan Williams, QC. Throughout his tenure, Chief Justice Brenner strove to improve the Court's efficiency and effectiveness with a view to improving access to justice. He co-founded the Court's Information Technology Committee and in 1999 became chair of the Litigation Management Committee.

Chief Justice Brenner played a pivotal role on the BC Justice Review Task Force, which was formed in March 2002 with the objective of identifying a wide range of reform ideas and initiatives to help make the justice system more responsive, accessible and cost-effective. The Court will adopt a new set of civil rules that will mark the first change in procedures since the litigation process was formalized in the 19th century.

"From his very first days as Chief Justice, it was clear that he was an exceptional appointment," said Miriam Maisonville, president of the Canadian Bar Association's BC Branch (CBABC), which represents a majority of the province's roughly 10,000 lawyers.

"He is a brilliant, creative man, committed to making the justice system accessible to all. Don Brenner has been a compelling and effective Chief Justice, giving years of his life to the goal of improving the justice system. We have been very fortunate to have him at the helm for so long."

Chief Justice Brenner, a former commercial pilot with Canadian Airlines, was the son of a Second World War hero and learned to fly a helicopter when he was 16 to become the youngest pilot in the country at the time. He graduated from St George's in 1962 and obtained his law degree from the University of British Columbia in 1970.

He articled at Shulman, Tupper, Worrall, Johnson & Laxton and, after his call to the Bar in 1971, went into partnership with Brian Abraham, as Brenner & Abraham. Throughout law school, articles and his practice, Chief Justice Brenner continued flying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, eventually as captain of a 737 jet. He was named Queen's Counsel in 1987.

During his years in practice, Chief Justice Brenner was chair of the CBABC Air Law Section, a director of the Air Transport Association of Canada, a director of the British Columbia Aviation Council and a director of the Lawyers' Inn. He participated in the Law Society's governance as a member of the Credentials Committee and was called to the Bars of the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alberta.

Biography

[posted June 11, 2009]