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George Ethelbert Carter was the first Canadian-born black judge. He was born in Toronto on August 1, 1921 and passed June 7, 2018 at the age of 96. View the Globe & Mail Obituary
George was the oldest of 14 children born to John and Louise Carter, who came to Toronto from Barbados just after World War I.
Justice Carter completed his undergraduate studies at Trinity College, at the University of Toronto, and graduated in 1944. He was then called up for active service in World War II and was on his way to Europe when the war ended.
He enrolled at Osgoode Hall law school, graduating in 1948. After being called to the bar in February, 1949, he soon found a position practising with a small firm led by B.J. Spencer Pitt, one of Toronto’s first black lawyers. Justice Carter had his own law firm and practised in the areas of real estate, criminal and family law for 31 years. He was called to the bench in 1979 and served for 16 years on the Ontario Provincial Court and was later appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice.
A bust of Justice Carter was unveiled at the Osgoode Hall Library in May 2014. A television documentary movie was made about his life in 2010, and he was named to the Order of Ontario in 2014.
WEL Partners salutes his accomplishments.
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Content for this article from the Globe and Mail obituary and wikipedia
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