8014

 

 8014  BRIAN BARRIE

1969 Review

 








Brian Barrie lives on Lake Huron, his horizon encircled by fishing islands until backlit by the Red Bay sunsets - a gathering place for a vibrant family life. He graduated from the Royal Military College in 1969 and, while serving in Gagetown, obtained a Master’s degree in English from the University of New Brunswick, specializing in Canadian literature, before pursuing his law degree from  Queen's University In Kingston, graduating in 1976. He knew that there was little room for him to serve in the military when his ambitions to be a “grunt” were derailed from a football injury - forcing a re-muster to medical administration and a First Field Ambulance posting that proved that the storyline in M.A.S.H. was understated.

                    The call of Lake Huron and the unfailing support of his young wife, Helen, afforded him the choice to establish a trial practice in Owen Sound Ontario, where for 40 years he was privileged to be accepted into a world of wonder and crisis, where strangers entrusted him with their causes, their fight for freedom, their financial survival and granted him access to their innermost fears and hopes. These were the living stories that provided motivation and instruction beyond books and cemented lasting relationships between a  lawyer and his client. From a small town practice Brian Barrie defended 13 individuals charged with murder, acted for the Deputy Chief of Defence in the Somalia inquiry and three families who lost loved ones in the Walkerton Water crisis, among other things. As well, he served two terms on the board of directors of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. In his last trial, Superior Court Justice Conlan made note of  Mr. Barrie’s legal contributions,  referring to him in his written judgement “ as one of the best barristers to ever practise law in the Counties of Grey and Bruce”.

                   But Brian Barrie could not still his passion for writing, while practising law. He published four books for children or youth between 2007 and 2019, which have been cherished by local Owen Sound readers. See www.brianbarrie.com to learn more about these titles, their story lines and their reviews. These stories originated from bedtime stories that he made up for their children, who clamoured for something new and different from their usual fare. Not surprisingly, their children and 6 grandchildren are Helen and Brian’s most important life investment.

             And now he has written a true life murder mystery ( ‘Four Bullets, Four Witnesses, Four Liars’ ),  based on his second murder trial,  which has won praise from jurists and the readers of true crime novels, alike.

Now time to’ leaf’ you




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