New Commissioner Appointed
Lawyer and adjudicator John Boddie, Halifax, has been appointed to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission for a three-year term.
Commissioners are appointed by an order of Executive Council, meet six times a year and are responsible for the strategic direction of the commission and making decisions on human rights issues, including referrals of complaints to boards of inquiry.
Mr. Boddie is a seasoned legal professional and dedicated community volunteer with more than 17 years of combined legal and adjudicative experience. He holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Wales and a diploma in International Relations from the University of Cambridge. He is currently pursuing a part-time master’s degree in international relations and War Studies at King’s College London, and has completed a certificate in Adjudication for Agencies, Boards, and Commissions from Osgoode Hall Law School (Toronto) and fulfilled his National Committee on Accreditation requirements at Dalhousie University. His academic and practice interests span Administrative Law, Health Law, Human Rights Law, and International Humanitarian Law.
Mr. Boddie’s adjudicative experience includes serving as a Legal Board Member for the Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Appeals Board from 2018 to 2021, and for the past 15 years, as a legal member of the Nova Scotia Involuntary Psychiatric Review Board. He also currently chairs the Halifax Regional Municipality Taxi Licensing Committee.
In addition to his professional roles, Mr. Boddie is actively involved in volunteer work serving
as a Board Member on the Saint Mary’s University Research Ethics Board and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Finance Committee. He previously chaired the Military Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Boddie further demonstrated his commitment to community service by volunteering with the Nova Scotia Health Authority's pop-up COVID testing clinics and is a lifelong patron of the Museum of Wales.