News

The Schulich School of Law extends our sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Thomas Alexander (Alex) Hickman (LLB ’47), who died of cancer at home on Jan. 10 at the age of 90. Highlights from the former politician and judge’s career included overseeing two royal commissions: one into the sinking of the Ocean Ranger oil rig that killed 84 men and another into the Donald Marshall Jr. case in Nova Scotia.

Born and raised in the town of Grand Bank on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula, Hickman studied at Memorial University, then Dalhousie Law School, and was called to the bar in 1948, launching a legal and political career that would span more than 50 years.

Hickman served as a cabinet minister in the Liberal government of Joey Smallwood and the Progressive Conservative government of Frank Moores, where he held posts in finance, health, justice, and other portfolios. He held a seat in the House of Assembly for 13 years.

Fond remembrances

Douglas Moores (LLB ’71), Q.C., is a partner with Moores & Collins in Bay Roberts, N.L. He organized and hosted Hickman’s retirement dinner in 2000 in St. John’s, which was attended by around 600 people. At the end of the evening after the speeches, Hickman walked onto the stage with “Hail to the Chief” playing in the background, which made him laugh.

“Alex Hickman was a highly respected member of the legal profession, both in Newfoundland and across the country, and his contributions were enormous.” — Douglas Moores, Q.C.

“Alex Hickman was a revered and highly respected member of the legal profession, both in Newfoundland and across the country, and his contributions were enormous,” says Moores. “He treated all those who knew him in a friendly, kind, and considerate manner. He was a great man and a great role model, and he will be remembered with fondness by all who met him.”

Royal commissions & recommendations

In 1979, Hickman was appointed to the Newfoundland Supreme Court, where he was chief justice of the trial division. He took the lead in revising and restructuring the court system in Newfoundland and Labrador, introducing one of the first Unified Family Courts in Canada.

The Hickman-led royal commission into the 1982 Ocean Ranger sinking took a critical look at the occupational health and safety in the then new offshore oil industry; Hickman made recommendations that improved the safety of offshore workers.

In 1989, he completed another royal commission that investigated the 1971 wrongful conviction of Donald Marshall Jr., who was exonerated nearly 19 years after being falsely convicted of the murder of Sandy Seale in Sydney, N.S. The report stated that Marshall was failed by the justice system at every turn, and that Nova Scotia's justice system was riddled with racism, ineptitude, and unfairness.

The recommendations in Hickman's report led to, among other things, changes in the Evidence Act and the creation of Canada’s first independent Public Prosecution Service. It also spurred the establishment of the Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq Initiative at Dalhousie Law School in 1989, which aims to reduce structural and systemic discrimination by increasing representation of indigenous, Black, and Mi’kmaw people in the legal profession and, ultimately, the judiciary.

Hickman was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; children Sandy, Heather, Harry, and Peter and their spouses; and seven grandchildren.