Former Ontario attorney generalRoy McMurtrydead at 91 [Video]

Roland (Roy) McMurtry, former provincial attorney general and chief justice of Ontario, has died. He was 91.

McMurtry, a legal and political giant in the province, died Monday, said his son Jim McMurtry in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“My father fought for rights and freedoms,” Jim wrote Tuesday morning. “I was the proudest son.”

The Francophone Assembly of Ontario (AFO) said on X that it is “saddened” by McMurtry’s passing.

“He played a leadership role in the implementation of bilingualism in our courts of justice,” the AFO said. “Rest in peace.”

McMurtry was a lawyer for 17 years and was elected to the Ontario legislature in 1975, serving in that role until 1985. As attorney general under former Progressive Conservative premier Bill Davis, McMurtry chaired the Ontario cabinet committee on race relations.

He oversaw many reforms in the justice system, including bilingualism in the courts, during his time …