Jean-Marie Philémon Joseph Beetz, , c.r. (March 27, 1927 – September 30, 1991) was a Canadian lawyer, academic and judge from Quebec. He served as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1974 to 1988.

Family and early life

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Beetz was the son of Jean Beetz and Jeanne Cousineau.

He was the grandson of Adéla Tanguay (1884-1954) and Johan Beetz (1874–1949), a Belgian physician, surgeon, naturalist, illustrator and

businessmen.

Beetz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947 from the Université de Montréal and a Licentiate of Laws in 1950. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and attended Pembroke College, Oxford, where he received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in 1953.

Beetz was called to the bar in Quebec before leaving for England on his Rhodes Scholarship. On his return to Canada in 1953, he became an assistant professor teaching Canadian constitutional law at the Université de Montréal. He taught there for twenty years, including serving as Dean of the Faculty of Law from 1968 to 1970. One of his colleagues on the Faculty of Law was Pierre Trudeau, later the federal Minister of Justice and then Prime Minister of Canada.

In addition to his academic work, Beetz also served in Ottawa from 1966 to 1971. He was the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet and Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council. He then served as Prime Minister Trudeau's Special Counsel on Constitutional Affairs. In that position, he was deeply involved in the Victoria Charter constitutional reform process,

Partial list of judgments

  • Reference re Anti-Inflation Act (1976) (dissent)
  • Société des Acadiens v. Association of Parents (1986) (majority)
  • Beauregard v. Canada (1986) (dissent)

Later life

Beetz retired in 1988 due to ill health.

In addition to his reputation as a judge, Beetz was also respected for his personal characteristics of warmth, humour and modesty. At a memorial service for Beetz, his former colleague, Chief Justice Lamer stated: "Jean, mon ami, pour le dire le plus simplement possible, était un homme bon" (Jean, my friend, to say it as simply as possible, was a good man).