Smith, Melvin Henry

1934-2000

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1934, Mel Smith was educated in British Columbia, graduating with Commerce and Law Degrees from UBC. In 1960, he was called to the Bar of B.C. Later that year, he joined the public service of B.C. where he remained for 31 years. Mr. Smith rose to the rank of Deputy Minister in 1977, a position he held in various ministries until he left public service in 1991. From 1967 to 1987, he was the ranking advisor to four successive B.C. governments on the subject of constitutional reform and related federal-provincial issues. He was primarily responsible for developing the province's constitutional position for the federal-provincial negotiations conducted over much of that period, including the negotiations leading up to the patriation of the Constitution in 1981. From 1991 to 2000, he was engaged as a public policy consultant, as a columnist for B.C. Report magazine, and as an adjunct professor of political science at Trinity Western University. He was the author of the national bestseller, "Our Home or Native Land?," which is highly critical of governments' aboriginal policy. He held the positions of Chairman of the B.C. Constitutional Law Subsection, Director of the Canada West Foundation, Director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen's University, and Director of the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation. He received a Queen Elizabeth II, 25th Anniversary Medal in 1977, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in December of 1983.