Back to the beginning: Frank Iacobucci to discuss Italian roots at inaugural lecture series
From being a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, to a leader at the University of Toronto, to honorary witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, any one of Frank Iacobucci’s accomplishments in his long and storied career would make a fascinating topic of conversation.
However, for the inaugural lecture of the Canadian Italian Development Association series at the University of Toronto Mississauga, Iacobucci is going back to the beginning: his roots as the son of Italian immigrants.
“I’ll be looking at Italian immigration in Canada in the 19th and 20th century, where they went, when they came, what they did and the reception they received, in a Canada that was changing,” he said of his lecture, set for Oct. 21.
“Interspersed with all that is the research and the reflections of my own and my family’s experience over the decades. It’s a big part of my background.”
Iacobucci’s working-class parents immigrated to Vancouver in the early 1920s and emphasized the importance of education to their four children. When a teacher compared young Frank’s gift for talking to Italian Canadian judge and community leader Angelo Branca, he was inspired to study law.
So began a distinguished career in private practice, academia, the civil service and the judiciary that has included roles as deputy minister of justice, deputy attorney general of Canada during the Meech Lake Accord process, appointee to the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission and special envoy for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.
Today, at 88, he serves as senior counsel at the business law firm Torys LLP.
A Companion of the Order of Canada, Iacobucci also has strong ties to University of Toronto, joining as a professor in the Faculty of Law in 1967, and then acting as dean, vice-president and provost before becoming interim president in 2004.
The Frank Iacobucci Centre for Italian Canadian Studies at the University of Toronto, a research facility with the mandate to study the cultural and social life of the Italian Canadian community, was named in honour of his appointment as the first Canadian of Italian origin to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Iacobucci’s commitment to his family heritage has remained strong throughout his career as he has served as director for the National Congress of Italian Canadians and received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto.
He has also been recognized by several prominent Italian/Italian Canadian groups for his contributions, including earning the Italo-Canadese of the Year Award from the Confratellanza Italo-Canadese, as well as the Ordine al Merito by the National Congress of Italian Canadians and receiving the Commendatore dell'Ordine Al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, the highest honour presented by the Italian Republic.
The new lecture series, made possible by a gift from the Canadian Italian Development Association, will advance Italian Canadian studies by featuring top experts in the field. The series will give students an enriching learning experience and offer both the campus and local community a chance to explore and connect with Italian history and culture.
The Oct. 21 event featuring Iacobucci – titled “Italian Canadians: A Personal Perspective” – is being held on campus at Maanjiwe nendamowinan, with the lecture set to begin at 6:15 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer segment at 7 p.m.
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Register for the lecture here.
