Profile  

The Honourable Michael Kirby retired from the Senate of Canada in 2006, after 22 years of service. From 1999-2006, he chaired the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. Under his leadership, the Committee produced 11 health care reports, including the first-ever national report on mental health, mental illness and addiction, Out of the Shadows at Last.

Before he was called to the Senate of Canada, Michael Kirby held numerous senior appointments in the civil service. From 1980 to 1983, he was Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations and Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council. In this capacity, he was deeply involved in the negotiations which led to the patriation of the Canadian Constitution and the adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Prior to first entering government in 1970 as the Principal Assistant to the Premier of Nova Scotia, Michael Kirby taught at the Schools of Business Administration and Public Administration at Dalhousie University, as well as at the Business Schools of the University of Chicago and the University of Kent, in England.

Michael Kirby was born in Montreal on August 5, 1941. He has a B.Sc. and an M.A. in Mathematics from Dalhousie University. In 1965, he received a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Northwestern University. In 1997, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Dalhousie University.