Members of the tribunal

There is one court in Canada higher than the Ontario Court of Appe al to which the decision of Lac Minerals’ appeal might be taken — the Supreme Court of Canada.

Appeal to the highest court in the land is not automatic, but considering the magnitude of the decision, its implications on future dealings in the mini ng industry and the complexities of the case, the Supreme Court is not likely to refuse an application for appeal unless the current tribunal’s decision is unanimous and decisive and upholds the trial judge’s decision.

The five judges from Ontario’s Court of Appeal, in whose hands the decision now rests, bring a wealth of experience to the task:

* Associate Chief Justice of Ontario Bert MacKinnon leads the 5-judge tribunal hearing the appeal. The 65-year-old judge, born in a small town in Ontario, was a Rhodes scholar during the Second World War during which he also served with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve. An associate chief justice since 1978, Judge MacKinnon is a coin collector and beekeeper.

* Charles Dubin, 65, was born in Hamilton, Ont. He has been a justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario since 1973. His wife, Anne, was a governor of the Toronto Stock Exchange, representing the public for eight years, stepping down in 1984.

* Allan Goodman, also born in Hamilton, Ont., and also 65 years old, has been a justice on the Supreme Court of Ontario since 1979. An alderman for the City of Welland for seven years in the 1950s, he served in the RCAF during the Second World War.

* Horace Krever, 57, was born in Montreal. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal earlier this year having served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Ontario from 1975 to 1986.

* Toronto-born John Morden, 52, is the youngest of the tribunal. An alumnus of Upper Canada College, Judge Morden practiced law at Day Wilson Campbell — a law firm active in the mining industry — from 1961 to 1973.