Press Release
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Justice J. Ernest Drapeau and Mathieu Vick to Be Honored by L’alUMni de l’Université de Moncton Alumni Association
At the Soirée Ovation scheduled for next October 18, L’alUMni de l’Université de Moncton Alumni Association will honor two graduates who have had outstanding careers by awarding the Ordre du mérite to Justice J. Ernest Drapeau (B.A. 1971) and the Prix Émergence to Mathieu Vick (B.Sc. with Honors in Physics 2004).
Ordre du mérite Awarded to Justice J. Ernest Drapeau
Justice J. Ernest Drapeau has had an exceptionally illustrious and brilliant legal career spanning over four decades. He has made a huge contribution to the legal profession and the advancement of law and justice in New Brunswick. He authored numerous decisions with profound effects on New Brunswickers, especially in the area of linguistic rights.
“Justice J. Ernest Drapeau has had an impressive career marked with the seal of excellence, and L’alUMni is delighted to present him with this distinction,” declared the President of L’alUMni, Marc-Antoine Chiasson. “As an eminent jurist, Mister Justice Drapeau is an inspiring model whose influence and engagement extend far beyond the borders of our province. He has made an inestimable contribution to the legal field that reflects on our university and on all of l’Acadie.”
The Ordre du mérite is an honorific awarded annually to recognize the exceptional contribution of a graduate whose professional activities and social action are an honor to the Université de Moncton and to his or her profession.
Prix Émergence Awarded to Mathieu Vick
The Prix Émergence 2018 will be awarded to Mathieu Vick, a young leader from Dieppe whose diversified personal and professional paths are remarkable for a number of reasons. After brilliant studies in astrophysics, Mathieu opted for a career that combines his interests in politics and social justice. In the spring of 2018 he was elected national President of the New Democratic Party of Canada, the first Francophone and first Acadian to occupy this position.
“Mathieu Vick’s social, community and political engagement and his undeniable ability to bring people closer together make him a marvelous ambassador both for his alma mater and for Acadia,” Marc-Antoine Chiasson said. “He stands out by his rich and diversified career path guided by his deep convictions and his desire to take concrete action to create a fairer, more equitable world.”
The Prix Émergence was created in 2008 to spotlight a new generation of graduates who are distinguishing themselves in different spheres of activity, whether by their exceptional career or by their active community involvement.
Biographies of the 2018 Recipients
Justice J. Ernest Drapeau
Justice J. Ernest Drapeau has distinguished himself throughout a remarkably brilliant legal career spanning over forty years. He has made a huge contribution to the legal profession and the advancement of law in New Brunswick.
This eminent jurist is presently the senior judge on the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, the highest tribunal in the province.
He was formerly Chief Justice of New Brunswick for over 15 years, from March 2003 to April 2018, making him the longest-serving Chief Justice in the last century. Chief Justice Drapeau was the second Acadian to occupy this very prestigious position, created in 1784, at the summit of the province’s judiciary.
During his years as Chief Justice of New Brunswick, Mister Justice Drapeau was a leader in promoting better citizen access to justice. He rendered decisions and implemented procedural reforms that improved access to justice by reducing the costs and timelines associated with lawsuits.
Mister Justice Drapeau is from Campbellton and is married to Gisèle Léger-Drapeau, a renowned visual artist who also graduated from the Université de Moncton, and the proud father of three daughters.
Justice J. Ernest Drapeau obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
Université de Moncton in 1971. He was awarded a Lord Beaverbrook Scholarship and attended law school at the University of New Brunswick, where he was co-winner of the Harrison Shield moot court competition.
In 1974, he graduated at the head of his class of 60 and was awarded the Carswell Prize, the Law Faculty Prize for academic and civic distinction, and the Lieutenant Governor's Silver Medal for academic distinction.
Mister Justice Drapeau was admitted to the New Brunswick Bar in June 1974. Over the next 24 years, his talents as a litigator included innumerable appearances before the New Brunswick courts at all levels and before labour arbitration boards. He had a multi-faceted career, ranging from criminal law (as Crown Prosecutor and defense attorney) to civil law in private practice (specializing mainly in personal injury, insurance and labour law) to public interest litigation (in particular, the right to an education for exceptional students and minority language rights).
While practicing law, Mister Justice Drapeau was very active professionally and publicly. He has been President of the Shediac Chamber of Commerce, President of the Westmorland County Cystic Fibrosis Society, director of L’alUMni de l’Université de Moncton (the former Association des anciens, anciennes et amis alumni association) and member of the Council of the Law Society if New Brunswick.
Mister Justice Drapeau was made a Queen’s Counsel in 1990. In January 1998, while a senior partner in the firm of Drapeau, Robichaud and McNally in Moncton, he was appointed to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.
Along with his diverse legal career he has important teaching experience. At the Université de Moncton, he taught Commercial Law in the Faculty of Administration and Criminal Law and Procedure in the Faculty of Law.
In 2011, a first for a Chief Justice of New Brunswick, Mister Justice Drapeau was named Vice-Chair of the Canadian Judicial Council by the Chief Justice of Canada, the Honourable Beverly McLachlin. He held the position for four years.
Mister Justice Drapeau has received two honorary Doctor of Laws degrees, one from the Université de Moncton in 2010 and a second from the University of New Brunswick in spring 2018.
He received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013.
Mister Justice Drapeau is a Companion of the Ordre des Régents et Régentes of the Université de Moncton.
Mathieu Vick
Mathieu Vick’s career has been marked by his social and political engagement and active community participation.
Mathieu Vick is originally from Dieppe, New Brunswick. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science with Honors in Physics from the Université de Moncton (2004), a Master’s in Astrophysics from the Université de Montréal (2006) and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the Université de Montréal (2010). He did his doctoral thesis jointly with the Université de Montpellier. Mathieu received numerous scholarships, including the Fernand-Landry, France-Acadie and Hubert-Reeves scholarships.
His studies in astrophysics specialized in the effects of the loss of mass on the evolution of stars, a particularly difficult area dealing with complex concepts in physics and advanced types of computer simulations. His scientific work led to the publication of five peer-reviewed articles in the prestigious journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. He has been a speaker at conferences all over the world, including in China, Italy, Denmark and Austria.
Mathieu Vick’s time as a student was a busy one, as he was active in the Faculty of Sciences and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Université de Moncton and served as as Vice-President Academic of FÉÉCUM. In 2004, the Université de Moncton awarded him a certificate of merit for his exceptional contribution to student life.
In 2009, he cofounded and chaired a community group, Rue Publique, aimed at improving the quality of life in Montréal neighborhoods by reimagining streets and promoting improved use of public spaces. He is still a member of the group’s Board of Directors. From 2011 to 2013, he was also a member of the Conseil régional de l’environnement de Montréal, and from 2009 to 2013 he volunteered for Générations, a program by La porte jaune, a community initiative to shatter the isolation felt by seniors in urban environments.
After he obtained his doctorate, Mathieu Vick’s career path changed profoundly in line with his interests in politics and social justice. In 2011, he accepted the position of parliamentary assistant to MP Anne Minh-Thu Quach. In 2012, he became in succession Coordinator of the Québec Caucus of the New Democratic Party and Coordinator of the National Caucus in the office of the Leader of the Opposition. Since 2015, Mathieu Vick has been part of the labour movement in the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE-SCFP), working as a research advisor for the SCFP-Québec.
In February 2018, he was elected the 19th national President of the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada. He is the first Acadian to hold this position.
Information:
Jeanne Farrah, B. Soc. Sc. 1988, M.P.A. 1991
Director of the Office of Graduates and L’alUMni
Office 358, Léopold-Taillon Pavilion
18 Antonine-Maillet Avenue
Université de Moncton, Moncton Campus
Moncton, New Brunswick E1A 3E9
Telephone: 506-858-4791
jeanne.farrah@umoncton.ca
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