Morris Shumiatcher

Who was Morris Shumiatcher?

Morris Cyril "Shumy" Shumiatcher, OC SOM QC was a Canadian lawyer best known for his contribution to the field of human rights and civil liberties.

Born in Calgary, Alberta, a son to Luba Lubinsky and Abraham Shumiatcher, he received a BA in 1940 and a LL.B in 1941 from the University of Alberta. He received his LL.M in 1942 from the University of Toronto. From 1943 to 1945, he served with the Royal Canadian Air Force as an air gunner. After the war, he received his PhD from the University of Toronto.

In 1946, he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan at the invitation of Tommy Douglas to become law officer of the Attorney General. He soon became the personal assistant to Douglas. In 1948, he was appointed the youngest King's Counsel in the Commonwealth of Nations, in order to argue a case before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, United Kingdom.

He was the author of the Saskatchewan Bill of Rights, the model for the Canadian Bill of Rights. It was the first Bill of rights in Canada and was one year before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.