JUSTICE MINISTER SALUTES THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JOHN SOPINKA

Released on November 26, 1997

Justice Minister John Nilson today saluted the accomplishments of

Supreme Court Justice John Sopinka.



Sopinka, who served on Canada's highest court for nine years, died

Sunday at the age of 64.



"I knew Justice Sopinka for over 13 years and held him in the highest

regard as a lawyer and Supreme Court Justice," Nilson said. "He will

be greatly missed, as a great Canadian."



Sopinka was a native of Saskatchewan, born on a farm near the town of

Broderick and raised near there and Yorkton, before his family moved

to Ontario when he was eight. There, Sopinka went on to become one of

the country's top trial lawyers for nearly three decades.



"Justice Sopinka's career was one of remarkable achievement," Nilson

said. "The country has lost a great jurist."



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