Fred Kaufman

Early Life and Family

Fred Kaufman was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1924. His father, Richard, was a textile salesman, and his mother, Alice, was a seamstress. As Jews, the family was in grave danger when, in March 1938, Nazi Germany invaded their country. Kaufman’s parents had him moved to England. Like all Austrian and German refugees between the ages of 16 and 60, he was detained in a military camp. About nine weeks later, Kaufman and other young detainees were transported to Canada.

Canada had also declared that Austrians were enemy aliens, so Kaufman was placed in a detention camp near Minto, New Brunswick, where he worked chopping trees. He was later moved to a camp in Sherbrooke, Quebec. In 1942, Kaufman was released under the sponsorship of Rabbi Mittleman. Kaufman completed secondary school and won a scholarship to Bishop’s University where, in 1946, he earned a Bachelor of Science.  

For six years, Kaufman worked as a newspaper reporter with the Sherbrooke Daily Record and Montreal Daily Star. By the time he was 29, he had earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Université de Montréal’s Thomas More Institute for Adult Education, which he needed to pursue a law degree. In 1951, he enrolled in McGill University’s law program and four years later passed the Quebec bar.

Kaufman’s wife, Donna, also became a lawyer. They had a daughter, Leslie, and a son, David.

Legal Career

After articling with respected lawyer Joseph Cohen, Kaufman began his own firm: Kaufman, Yarosky & Fish. For 18 years, he specialized in criminal law, defending clients in a range of cases, including 49 homicides. He also worked for the Crown in significant public cases, such as the 1969 student occupation at Sir George Williams University (now part of Concordia University). He also helped prosecute many of those arrested under the War Measures Act during the October Crisis of 1970.

Quebec Court of Appeal

In 1973, Kaufman became a justice on the Quebec Court of Appeal. Its four judges adjudicated cases decided by lower courts and those brought to it by the provincial government.

A significant case addressed during Kaufman’s time on the court involved a jury acquitting Dr. Henry Morgentaler of illegally performing abortions. The Quebec Court of Appeal quashed the acquittal and ordered him imprisoned. The decision led to federal legislation that denied provincial appeal courts the ability to take such action.

Kaufman’s decisions on the court were significantly affected by the federal government’s 1982 adoption of the constitutionally enshrined Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a McGill University lecture, Kaufman said, “the Charter, with all its imperfections, has brought about a new and refreshing redirection of thought.”

Kaufman retired in 1991. A year later, when he was made a Member of the Order of Canada, he was praised for dedicating his life to “justice, fairness and freedom. Moreover, he has instilled in others the pursuit of these ideals.”

Commissions of Inquiry

Kaufman pursued his interest in business by obtaining a Master of Business Administration at Concordia University.

The Government of Nova Scotia appointed Kaufman to lead an inquiry into its Public Prosecution Service. His June 1999 report recommended 29 changes to make the system more efficient and transparent. Later that year, the province asked him to lead an inquiry into the abuse of young offenders in provincially run schools and jails. His January 2002 report criticized the government for allowing the abuse to occur and made 105 recommendations designed to avoid future tragedies.

Kaufman moved to Toronto and, in 1996, the Ontario government appointed him to lead a one-person public inquiry to investigate Guy Paul Morin’s murder conviction. Kaufman’s 1,300-page report, released in 1998, outlined the many errors made by the courts and police in Morin’s case. The report changed how investigations are done and how evidence is gathered, stored, and explained to juries.

In 1959, 14-year-old Steven Truscott was convicted of murder and was paroled after 10 years in prison. In 2001, Truscott asked to have his conviction reviewed and Kaufman was appointed to investigate the application. His 700-page report detailed a series of mistakes made by the police and courts and was influential in Truscott’s acquittal in 2007.

Death

In 2005, Fred Kaufman published the well-received Searching for Justice: An Autobiography. He died in Toronto on 27 December 2023 at the age of 99. Mark Sandler said of his friend and colleague: “He had it all, wisdom and common sense. He was the personification of everything you want to aspire to as a lawyer and as a person.”

Awards

• Queen's Counsel (1971)
• Member, Order of Canada (1992)
• Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
• Fellow, Royal Society of Canada (2002)
• Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012)
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of New Brunswick (2012)