What I Wish I Had Told My Children

In this beautifully written biography penned by journalist Antoine Trépanier, the Honourable Michel Bastarache recounts his youth in Acadia and the various professional roles he occupied before becoming the first Acadian to accede to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Written as a letter addressed to his two children, who died of an incurable disease, Bastarache recounts his constant fight for equality between francophone and anglophone communities. He reminisces on his commitment among groups protecting francophones outside Québec, then on his careers as teacher, civil servant, lawyer, and judge.

He takes the reader backstage to the most important causes he worked on and reveals some of the secrets of the highest court in Canada. He also weighs in on the controversy surrounding the Inquiry Commission on the process for appointing judges of the Court of Québec, as well as his mediator work for reconciliation and compensation of alleged victims of sexual abuse by ex-priests in New Brunswick.

Michel Bastarache (Author) Michel Bastarache, C.C., QC Mr. Justice Bastarache, B.A., LL.L., LL.B., D.E.S., CC, QC received eight honorary degrees. He was called to the Bar in six provinces. He worked for the New Brunswick and federal governments. He was Vice-President and Director of Marketing at Assumption Life, later President and Chief Executive Officer of Assumption Life and its subsidiaries. He was law professor and Dean at the University of Moncton Law School and Associate Dean, Common Law Section, University of Ottawa. He practised law in Ottawa and Moncton. Mr Bastarache was appointed to the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick in 1995 and the Supreme Court of Canada in 1997. He retired from the court in 2008 and practices lawo as a professional corporation. Mr Bastarache was a member of the Interim Constitutional Court of Kenya. He was also Commissioner for La Commission d’enquête sur la nomination des juges au Québec. He was the Independant conciliator for the indemnification of victims of sexual abuse for the dioceses of Bathurst and Moncton. He was also the Independent conciliator for the indemnification of the female members of the RCMP victims of sexual harassment. He is a member of the Administrative Tribunal of the Association of American States in Washington. He is editor and principal author of three text books and over 150 articles. He was awarded a dozen awards, especially Companion of the Order of Canada and Officier de la Légion d’honneur.Antoine Trépanier (Author) Antoine Trépanier is a parliamentary journalist in Ottawa. He has worked for the daily newspaper Le Droit and for Radio-Canada in Moncton and Ottawa. He is a graduate of the University of Ottawa.