Thomas Molloy, a lawyer who was involved in some of the most important land-claims negotiations in Canadian history, including the agreement that led to the creation of Nunavut, has been awarded this year’s Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to law and legal scholarship in Canada.
“Long before reconciliation became part of our Canadian discourse, Mr. Molloy embodied it,” says Ray Adlington, CBA Vice-President and Chair of the CBA Governance and Equality Committee. “His ability to build trust and confidence around the table has led to negotiations that have helped reshape this country from coast to coast to coast.”
Called to the bar in 1965 in Saskatchewan, Mr. Molloy quickly found his calling in the area of indigenous law. He was not only the federal government’s chief negotiator in the Nunavut agreement in 1999, but in 2000 he also closed the historic Nisga’a Treaty settlement that recognized the right of the Nisga’a people to live where they had always lived, and to own and control the land they live on.
In addition to his distinguished legal career, Mr. Molloy served as Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan from 2001 to 2007, authored an award-winning book called The World Is Our Witness: The Historic Journey of The Nisga’a Into Canada, which was published in 2000, and he was recently sworn in as Saskatchewan’s 22nd lieutenant-governor.
The Hnatyshyn Award was established in 1993 by then-Governor General of Canada Ramon Hnatyshyn, and is presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions to the law or legal scholarship in Canada.
“I’m grateful to the Canadian Bar Association for honouring me with this prestigious award, which is even more special as I knew the Honourable Ramon Hnatyshyn and his family well. I’m humbled to be counted among the impressive past recipients. I wish to acknowledge the many individuals who have played a role in my success throughout the years,” said Mr. Molloy.
As a result of changes taking place within the CBA, our awards presentation cycle has been disrupted. Therefore the medallion will be presented to Mr. Molloy at the CBA President’s Dinner in February 2019.