For Immediate Release
August 12, 2005
VANCOUVER – John H. Sims, Q.C., Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the John Tait Award of Excellence, presented by the Canadian Bar Association’s Public Sector Lawyers’ Conference (PSLC).
"John Sims has dedicated his career to the practice of law in the public sector," said CBA President Susan McGrath of Iroquois Falls, Ont. "He has served the people of Canada at the very highest level."
Since joining the public service in 1977, John Sims has held a number of increasingly senior positions at major federal ministries, including the Department of Justice, Citizenship and Immigration, Transport Canada, and the Treasury Board. Along the way, he worked as a litigator, Legal Services Unit head, Assistant Deputy Attorney General for Citizenship and Immigration, and advisor to the Cabinet Committee on Social Union.
Mr. Sims received both his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History and Economics and law degree from Queen's University. He was called to the Bar in 1973.
"John Sims is, by all standards, an exemplary lawyer and leader. He is a lawyer's lawyer, having served the Crown in so many divergent aspects of the law," said Justice Canada's Mark Berlin. "But perhaps even more significant, John remains a thoroughly humane and decent person. All of us in the Department of Justice celebrate this well-deserved recognition."
The John Tait Award of Excellence is presented by the PSLC during the Canadian Legal Conference in Vancouver, as part of the John Tait Reception, at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Coal Harbour Suite, Monday, Aug. 15. The award was established in 1998 to honour, recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of public sector lawyers in Canada. The award honours the memory of John Tait, an outstanding lawyer, public servant and friend of the CBA who passed away in the summer of 1999.
The Canadian Bar Association represents the legal profession on a national and international level. It is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 34,000 lawyers, law teachers and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org. Aug. 12-15: (604) 647-7408.
