McGill University Fall Convocation: October 23, 2003
Some 765 McGill University graduands, out of the 2003 Fall Convocation's 1,572 graduates, will cross the stage of Salle Wilfrid Pelletier to be capped by - in the case of bachelor degrees - or to shake hands with - in the case of master's or doctoral degrees - one of three University officials: Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, Chancellor Richard Pound, or Board of Governors chair Robert Rabinovitch. All three will be in attendance.
On this occasion, McGill University will confer a Doctor of Laws honoris causa on the Honourable Donald James Johnston, successively co-founder of the widely respected law firm of Johnston, Heenan and Blaikie (now Heenan Blaikie) in 1973, federal cabinet minister in the governments of Pierre Trudeau and John Turner (1978-88) and currently Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Mr Johnston will receive his honorary degree at the beginning of the Fall Convocation ceremony, which will start at 2:30 pm, Thursday, October 23, in Salle Wilfrid Pelletier at Place des Arts. He will deliver the Convocation address.
The Honourable Donald James Johnston, PC, QC, BCL, BA (McGill University)
Raised on a small farm near Cumberland in the Ottawa Valley, Donald Johnston began his early education in a traditional one-room schoolhouse. After a brief period in Ottawa, he moved to Montreal, graduating from the High School of Montreal in 1953.
Mr Johnston earned two degrees from McGill University: a bachelor of civil law in 1958, when he received the Gold Medal in the Faculty of Law, and a bachelor of arts in 1960. As a student, Mr Johnston directed the University's annual Red & White Revue in 1955 and shared a flat with fellow McGill student Leonard Cohen. After a year in France on a travelling scholarship at the University of Grenoble, he returned to Montreal and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1961.
Mr Johnston became a prominent Montreal attorney and co-founded the law firm of Johnston, Heenan and Blaikie (now Heenan Blaikie) in 1973. The firm has gone on to great success, employing more than 300 lawyers throughout Canada and the United States. From 1964 to 1977, Mr Johnston continued his association with McGill's Faculty of Law, teaching courses on fiscal law.
Mr Johnston ran for public office in 1978, serving as the Liberal Party's Member of Parliament for the riding of Westmount (now St-Henri-Westmount). Voters in the riding elected Mr Johnston in all four federal elections he contested. He held several powerful positions as a federal cabinet minister in the governments of Pierre Trudeau and John Turner. Mr Johnston was, at various times, President of the Treasury Board, Minister of State for Economic and Regional Development, Minister of State for Science and Technology, Minister of Justice, and Attorney General of Canada.
As Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Johnston increased funding for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, oversaw Canada's newly created astronaut program, and designed and hosted Canada Tomorrow, Canada's first major international science and technology conference. After the 1984 federal election, Mr Johnston was appointed Opposition Critic for Finance, and later, for External Affairs.
In 1988, Mr Johnston ended a decade of political life to return to Heenan Blaikie as legal counsel. In 1990, he was elected President of the Liberal Party of Canada, serving in that position until 1994.
Early in 1994, he was invited by the newly elected Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to be the Canadian candidate for the prestigious role of Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), based in Paris. The OECD, a widely influential policy forum for the world's industrialized countries, is an organization composed of 30 member countries that share a common commitment to democratic government and the market economy.
In 1996, he became Secretary-General and the first non-European to lead the OECD. In 2001, he was re-elected by all the member countries to a second five-year term. Mr Johnston is credited with broadening the OECD's approach - holding OECD Council meetings outside of Paris for the first time, and including such non-member countries as China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, Indonesia, Slovakia and South Africa in OECD discussions. A Maclean's article recently posited that Mr Johnston is an effective leader for the OECD because of his "insatiable desire to figure out which policies work - and why."
Donald Johnston has authored two books, How to Survive Canada's Tax Chaos and Up the Hill (a best-selling political memoir), and edited With a Bang Not a Whimper: Pierre Trudeau Speaks Out. He has also served as a member of the boards of several companies and organizations, including BCE Inc., Unimedia Inc., the Quebec Hospital Association, the Centre de Santé St-Henri, and Bishop's College School.
