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Supreme Court
The Honourable Mr. Justice John Sopinka (1933-1997) John Sopinka was born on March 19, 1933 in Broderick, Saskatchewan, the son of Ukrainian immigrant parents. His family moved to Hamilton, Ontario when John was still young and he attended elementary and high school in Hamilton. He won scholarships to attended university and he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1955 and received his law degree in 1958. While attending university he played football with the Toronto Argonauts in 1955-57 and with the Montreal Allouettes in 1957. He practised law in Toronto in 1960-88 and taught at the Osgoode Law School and the University of Toronto Law School in 1974-1984. He was created Queen's Counsel in 1975. He also represented Ukrainian community organizations before the federal government. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on May 24, 1988. He was the first Canadian of Ukrainian origin to be appointed to this position. He died after a short illness on November 24, 1997 at the age of 64.
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