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Remembering retired Provincial Court Judge Alfred Scow

Retired Provincial Court Judge Alfred Scow passed on February 26, 2013.

Well known by lawyers in Victoria, Alfred Scow, a retired judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia, was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from a BC law school, the first Aboriginal lawyer called to the BC bar and the first Aboriginal legally-trained judge appointed to the BC Provincial Court. He was a member of the Kwicksutaineuk-ah-kwa-mish First Nation from Alert Bay, Vancouver Island.

Scow established the Scow Institute for Communicating Information on Aboriginal Issues in 1996 and was also awarded the Order of Canada in 2000 and the Order of B.C. in 2004.

Scow graduated from University of British Columbia in 1961, and in 1962 was called to the bar. He was appointed to the provincial court in 1971, where he served until 1992.

On being asked why he became a lawyer:

“What really happened in my decision to become a lawyer,” said Scow, “was one of the young ladies who was preparing the yearbook asked me, ‘What are you going to do when you finish schooling?’ I said ‘I want to become a lawyer,’ so,” laughed Scow, “when I made that statement I had to do it.”

During an interview with Benchers’ Bulletin in 2010, Scow was asked what advice he had for First Nations students considering a legal career. “If I can do it, you can too,” he said.

 

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