Identity area
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Authorized form of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Abraham (Abe) Lieff was born in 1903 in Antopol, Poland (now Belarus) to Bernard Lifshitz, and emigrated to Canada at the age of 1. In 1926, he graduated from Osgoode and joined his brother's family law practice in Ottawa. In 1963, he became the first Jew to serve as justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario, and the first Jew to take the oath of office holding a copy of the Old Testament and wearing a kippah. While serving as judge, Lieff "pioneered the use of pre-trial conferences for mediating child custody, spousal support and other contentious disputes outside of the courtroom," earning him the title "Father of Ontario Family Law."
Throughout his life, Lieff was known for breaking barriers, becoming the first Jew to serve as the head of many non-sectarian organizations, including the Ottawa Kiwanas CLub, and the first Jewish ember of the board of the Catholic St. Vincent's Hospital.
He died at the age of 104 in 2007.