THE ADVOCATE 121
VOL. 79 PART 1 JANUARY 2021
The Honourable Mr. Justice Peter Edelmann
Mr. Justice Peter Edelmann was not drawn to the
practice of law for money or prestige. In fact, you
might be hard-pressed to find another person who,
like Peter, barely viewed these things as a side benefit.
A fancy office in a prestigious location was never
his goal. When he first started out as a sole practitioner,
there was little about Peter’s office that hinted
at the remarkable legal mind and formidable advocate sitting behind the
desk. The firm’s sign was a simple sheet of white paper taped to the door
bearing only his name and the words “lawyer, avocat, abogado”. His office
furniture was nothing if not practical and had been gathered from a variety
of second-hand sources. At one point, the mismatched appearance of the
office drew the attention of a local film company scouting a potential set for
their next film about a public defender. Unaware how his office appeared to
outsiders, Peter was taken aback when the scout explained that the garagesale
feel of the firm was just what he was looking for.
His unassuming office did not hinder Peter from very quickly making a
name for himself, not only in Vancouver, but also across Canada. He developed
a reputation as a deft navigator of both the criminal justice and immigration
legal systems, particularly with respect to immigration enforcement
and refugee cases. It was not long before his clients consisted mainly of referrals
from other lawyers who took notice of the depth of his legal knowledge,
his courage to take on difficult cases and his commitment to social justice.
The son of Swiss immigrants, Peter grew up in a farming household in
southeastern Ontario with four siblings. After attending francophone schools
in Hamilton, he earned a bachelor’s degree in French literature and philosophy
at the University of Toronto before pursuing graduate studies at the University
of British Columbia. Driven by his desire to provide legal support of
the highest quality to some of the most marginalized and under-represented
individuals in our society, Peter attended law school at McGill University
with the intention of becoming a criminal defence lawyer. However, his interest
in refugee and immigration law was piqued after a visit to an immigration
detention centre in Montreal, where he was confronted with the additional
challenges faced by those who spoke neither French nor English.
Certainly, this visit to the detention centre was not the only life-changing
moment that occurred during Peter’s time at McGill. It was in his adminis-