Gerald J. Rip is a judge currently serving as Chief Justice

Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 of the Tax Court of Canada

Tax Court of Canada

The Tax Court of Canada , established in 1983 by the Tax Court of Canada Act, is a federal superior court which deals with matters involving companies or individuals and tax issues with the Government of Canada....

.

Life

Born to Harry and Pauline Rip in 1940, Rip was a 1958 graduate of Outremont High School

Outremont High School

Outremont High School was a high school in the Montreal suburb of Outremont, operated by the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal and later by the English Montreal School Board. It opened in September 1956...

. His son is an Ontario lawyer.

In May 2007, he spoke at the Canadian Petroleum Tax Society's conference, and in June 2009, he was the opening speaker at the Canadian Tax Foundation

Canadian Tax Foundation

The Canadian Tax Foundation is an independent tax research non-profit organization with over 7,700 individual and corporate members in Canada and abroad...

's Toronto conference.

Term as a lawyer

Rip was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1966, and was named Special Assistant to the Minister of Justice the following year. He joined the Department of Justice

Department of Justice (Canada)

The purpose of the Department of Justice is to ensure that the Canadian justice system is fair, accessible and efficient. The Department also represents the Canadian government in legal matters...

 and focused on tax litigation until 1972.

In 1973, Rip was admitted to the Law Society of Upper Canada

Law Society of Upper Canada

The Law Society of Upper Canada is responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1797, it is known in French as "Le Barreau du Haut-Canada"...

, and joined Soloway, Wright, Houston & Associates in Ottawa, where he remained until his July 1983 appointment to the Tax Court.

Term as a judge

Rip was appointed Associate Chief Justice of the Tax Court in September 2006, and was named Chief Justice on July 15, 2008. The appointment, by Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

, saw Rip replace Donald G.H. Bowman, and Rip's own role was filled by Eugene Rossiter

Eugene Rossiter

Eugene Rossiter is a judge currently serving on the Tax Court of Canada.-References:...

. When his official portrait, painted by Cyril Leeper, was unveiled in the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

's Great Hall, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin

Beverley McLachlin

Beverley McLachlin, PC is the Chief Justice of Canada, the first woman to hold this position. She also serves as a Deputy of the Governor General of Canada.-Early life:...

 commissioned the same artist to paint her own portrait.

In his 2009 judgment in the suit Leola Purdy, Sons Ltd. v The Queen, he quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...

in suggesting that "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds".