16 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 1 JANUARY 2021
As Chief Justice, Lance was aware of the significant shifts that were happening
in the legal landscape, including challenges relating to the modernization
of court administration and the court’s relationship with the
executive branch. Beginning in 2012, Lance would lead the court through a
particularly remarkable time. Before then, many aspects of the relationship
between the judicial and executive branches in British Columbia were governed
by convention, resulting in both branches sporadically straying into
each other’s dominions. The relationship had not been examined in detail
since the tenure of Chief Justice Nemetz in the 1980s.
Lance led the courts of British Columbia in the creation of a 2013 memorandum
of understanding with the executive branch, giving clearer definition
to where courts and government should work together and where they
must necessarily remain apart. This was no small feat. It required brokering
a consensus within and between the three levels of court and the Attorney
General of British Columbia. The clear division of responsibility and the
well-defined working relationship with the executive branch fostered by
Lance and continued by Chief Justice Bauman, Chief Justice Hinkson and
Chief Judge Gillespie remain the envy of other courts across Canada.
Despite these achievements, the best memories many have of Lance are
ones touched by his conduct. He lived by a very personal code, which he
described in the final paragraphs of his retirement address:
It has been said that justice is the Golden Rule, codified by law. The
Golden Rule admonishes us to treat others as we would wish to be treated
by them. Respect, understanding, compassion and forgiveness are, I suggest,
some of the guidelines by which we would all wish to be judged.
In acts both sublime and small, Lance lived this code and expected all to
judge him by it. Chance conversations on the street, or carefully chosen
words in the courtroom, or a young lawyer’s description of the “Finchian
calmness” Lance brought to a pro bono file—all are memories shared by
those who knew Lance in any capacity.
My own vivid memory is a short visit to Thormanby Island, where he
took summer vacation. I can picture him piloting his old tin boat with
“Finch” scrawled on the side as he calmly explained to me on reaching
shore, between grandchildren crawling across his lap, that he was not sure
whether his water supply would last the summer. Years later, he would
spend the last two weeks of his life at this retreat, taking final pleasures in
its vernal tones, surrounded by those who were fortunate enough to love
him most.