Kenneth BINKS

MR. JUSTICE KENNETH C. BINKS Mr. Justice Kenneth Charles Binks died peacefully on September 14, 2018 at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto of complications following a stroke. Predeceased by his beloved wife, Jean Donalda (Holman), and his brothers, James and Jack, and survived by his sister, Mary Jane. Much-loved father of Georgina (Mike), Charles (Suzanne), Andrew (Bernard) and Martha (Leonard), and grandfather of Julie, Ian, Alexander, Emily, Leverett, Max and Sam, and their poodles, Hershey, Hugo and Lucy. Ken was born in Ottawa, May 19, 1925, son of Russell Stuart Binks and Kathleen Emily Webster. He attended Ottawa public schools, Glebe Collegiate, and the High School of Commerce. He left school in 1941 and began working for the Department of Munitions and Supply, the Department of External Affairs, and the Library of Parliament. While working in the government he studied nights and holidays to obtain his Senior Matriculation and to complete Queen's University correspondence courses in Arts. While working at the Library of Parliament he created a weekly column of anecdotes and literary comment that appeared in the Ottawa Journal as 'Attic Salt Shaker,' and in a number of other papers as 'Of Cabbages and Kings,' under the pen name Peter Elliot, over a period of 10 years. He attended Queen's University and graduated with an Honours BA in modern history in 1948, then went on to study modern history and law at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge University. He graduated from the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan in 1952 and was awarded the Wylie Wood Prize in jurisprudence. He was admitted to the Bar of Saskatchewan and the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1953. He began practicing in Ottawa with the firm McDonald, Joyal, Fogarty and Mills, during which time he was also part-time Assistant Crown Attorney for Carleton County 1954 - 1956. He then practiced with Mirsky Soloway, and in 1958 began practicing with Dan Chilcott as Binks and Chilcott and subsequently as Binks, Chilcott and Simpson for 30 years. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1965. He appeared in all the courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, on a number of occasions. The deep sense of justice that motivated his legal career led him to help the less fortunate free of charge. He was appointed to the bench in 1991 and sat until retiring in 2000. On his retirement, fellow judges noted that, during his years on the bench, he had a remarkably agile, inquiring mind and an academic approach with a pragmatic flair. In 1947, Ken was an organizer of the Progressive Conservative Student Federation and in 1959, he was named national secretary of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1979, Ken became the member of Parliament for Ottawa West. He was a founding member of St. Timothy's Presbyterian Church, first chairman of its board of managers, and a member of the Cambridge Union, Rideau Club, and a life member of the Cercle Universitaire. Ken and Jean loved the theatre, Broadway, and London's west end. Ken was a loyal supporter of the Ottawa Little Theatre for over 50 years, and was the chairman of the rebuilding effort when the theatre burned down in 1970. Ken returned to practicing law in 2000, acting as counsel first with Beament Green and then Low Murchison. He retired in 2013. He remained an avid reader and a patron of the arts. Ken loved a good story (especially his own), a good laugh, a good drink, the enjoyment and camaraderie of many friends, and his cottage on the Ottawa River. He was a proud citizen of Ottawa. Service on September 29th at 11:00 a.m., with reception to follow at the Hulse, Playfair, and McGarry Funeral Home, 315 McLeod Street, Ottawa. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Ottawa YMCA online at ymcaywca.ca/ or phone 613-237-1320 ext. 5515.