U of L to present honorary degree to Lethbridge-born lawyer

May 11, 2021 | 9:49 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A Lethbridge-born civil liberties lawyer is being honoured by the U of L.

Marlys Edwardh will receive an honorary degree as part of the 2021 Spring Convocation celebration.

In a release, the University of Lethbridge stated that, “as one of the first female lawyers to practice criminal law in Canada, Marlys Edwardh has changed the landscape of Canadian law and championed civil liberties and human rights through her support of freedom of the press, the rights of the mentally ill and the LGBTQ+ community and the wrongfully convicted.”

Edwardh graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and was a partner with the firm Ruby & Edwardh from 1976 to 2008. She went on to form her own firm and in 2011, joined Goldblatt Partners LLP, where she worked until retiring in 2018. Edwardh was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2010.

Over the course of her career, she fought to overturn the wrongful convictions of Donald Marshall Jr., Guy Paul Morin and Steven Truscott. She also represented Canadians held abroad, including Maher Arar and Hassan Diab.

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“Edwardh’s work on behalf of the mentally ill in the criminal justice system brought to light key fundamental truths,” the U of L stated in the release.

“The constitutional principles set out in these cases formed a basis for Supreme Court decisions that have decriminalized medically assisted suicide and activities related to sex work.”

Edwardh served on several commissions of inquiry and was Commission Counsel to the Krever Inquiry, which examined the contamination of Canada’s blood system.  

The U of L will present her with a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the Chancellor’s Reception on June 10.

by Justin Goulet