The Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General, today offered condolences to the family and friends of former Chief Justice T. Alex Hickman.

“Chief Justice Hickman had a profound impact on Newfoundland and Labrador in his various capacities over a career that spanned more than 50 years. For 35 years, he served the public first as an MHA and minister of several departments and then as a Chief Justice with Supreme Court. Chief Justice Hickman also played a very prominent role in the aftermath of one of the province’s greatest disasters when he oversaw the Royal Commission into the sinking of the Ocean Ranger. Losing someone of his stature is a great blow to the legal community and to the province as a whole. He will be greatly missed and I offer my condolences to his family and friends.”
– The Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General
T. Alex Hickman was born in Grand Bank in 1925. After studying at Memorial University, he received a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Dalhousie University in 1947. After being called to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar in 1948, he embarked on a legal and political career that would span more than 50 years. In 1966 he was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly where he served as minister for several departments including Justice, Finance, Health, and Education. In 1979, Hickman was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Trial Division with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. As Chief Justice, he served as the Chairman of the Royal Commission into the Ocean Ranger disaster as well as the Chairman of the Royal Commission into the false conviction of Donald Marshall, Jr. Chief Justice Hickman was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003. The courthouse in Grand Bank was named in his honour in 2001.