Creation and Beginnings of the Court
Current and Former Chief Justices
Current and Former Puisne Judges
About the Court
Judges of the Court
The Honourable Mr. Justice Emmett Matthew Hall
![[Photo- Emmett Matthew Hall]](/web/20061029064352im_/http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/_images/display/hall-tn.jpg)
Emmett Matthew Hall was born in Saint-Colomban, Quebec, on November 29, 1898. He was the son of James Hall and Alice Shea. In 1910 his family moved to Saskatoon. While studying law at the University of Saskatchewan, he supported himself by teaching French in local schools. He graduated with an LL.B. in 1919 and was called to the bar three years later. A partner in the law firm of Hall & Maguire, he became president of the Law Society of Saskatchewan in 1952. He also lectured on law at the University of Saskatchewan until 1957, the year he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Saskatchewan. Four years later, he became Chief Justice of Saskatchewan, and he was subsequently named chairman of the Royal Commission on Health Services, which recommended the creation of a universal health care system. He is therefore known as the father of Canadian medicare. On November 23, 1962, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. He served on the Court for 10 years and retired on March 1, 1973. Justice Hall died on November 12, 1995, at the age of 96.
