Judge’s death could complicate Lac-Corona suit

The death on June 19 of Mr Justice Bert James MacKinnon, Associate Chief Justice of Ontario, could complicate the already intricate Lac Minerals, International Corona lawsuit.

Judge MacKinnon, who died three days before his 66th birthday, led the 5-judge tribunal hearing an appeal by Lac of a Supreme Court of Ontario decision handed down in March, 1986. At stake is ownership of Canada’s largest producing gold mine, the Page-Williams mine at Hemlo, Ont. Lac developed the mine, but the Supreme Court trial judge awarded it to Corona. Lac is now appealing that decision.

It is theoretically possible for the remaining four judges to reach a split decision in the case. If so, either Lac or Corona could seek to have the appeal reheard. If the decision is either 3-1 or 4-0, the court’s decision will stand.

Boris Krivy, executive officer to the Chief Justices, says it is conceivable but not likely that the decision would end in a 2-2 deadlock. Regardless of how the decision is handed down, he says it is very rare that a situation such as this arises. It has been three years since a Supreme Court judge has died in office and in that case only a couple of minor decisions in which he was involved were pending. Mr Krivy could not remember a Chief Justice dying while in office and could not recall any judge hearing a case as “high profile” as the Lac- Corona suit dying before a decision was handed down.