Still work to be done

Just because Judge Corrine Sparks has hung up her judicial robes doesn’t mean she won’t be rolling up her sleeves. She is now serving as a commissioner responsible for adjudicating disputes over land ownership in historic African Nova Scotian communities.

The project is part of the Land Titles Initiative, which Nova Scotia launched in 2017 to help residents get clear title to their land. “In many of the Black communities in Nova Scotia there have been historical injustices, and I’m pleased to see that many members of the community have been assertive in terms of trying to maintain the historical significance of our communities,” says Sparks, who retired at the end of last year, after 34 years presiding on the Family Courts.

The Land Titles Initiative recognizes that many African Nova Scotians live on land passed down rightfully from their ancestors, but unfortunately they lack a clear land title. This prohibits them from getting a mortgage, selling or transferring their land, or accessing grants. African residents in these communities will be able to access services of the Land Titles Initiative, which covers all of the (often expense) legal fees associated with clarifying land title. Sparks’ involvement in this initiative is fitting, considering that her 2001 LL.M. thesis investigated the legal issues of compensation and relocation of the residents of Africville, a Halifax African Nova Scotian community that was dismantled in the 1960s. Many Africville residents had difficulty obtaining fair compensation for the properties their families had inhabited for generations, because they did not have deeds to the land.

Now, 21 years later, Sparks will be playing a direct role in implementing protections for African Nova Scotian residents and communities that may otherwise have similar difficulties proving their land ownership. It is also a role that is very much in line with her trailblazing and inspirational judicial career.

Corrine Sparks was a woman of many firsts. Having excelled academically in high school and received scholarships to study at Mount Saint Vincent University, she graduated in 1974 with a degree in economics, then worked with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission before attending Dalhousie Law School (now Schulich). In her law school class of 120 students, Sparks was one of only three African Nova Scotians, the only woman among them. After completing her law degree in 1979, Sparks practiced law at the firm Ruck & Mitchell from 1981 to 1987, before being appointed to the bench in 1987, at just 33 years old. She was the first African Nova Scotian appointed to the Nova Scotia judiciary and the first Black Canadian woman to serve on the judiciary in Canada.

“I hope, if anything, I have been able to protect and ensure that some of our vulnerable children have been insulated from abusive and neglectful home lives,” Sparks says of her time on the Family Court. “That is one of the key mandates in being a Family Court Judge, to protect children.”

She would also become known for her long-term and steadfast advocacy for the rights of racially disenfranchised people of colour within our legal system. Sparks was the only African Nova Scotian judge in the province for nearly a decade, until Judge Castor Williams was appointed in 1996. She continued to be a trailblazer in many ways, her decisions making waves at both the provincial and national level. In her 1995 decision in the case of R v S (RD), she acquitted a black youth who had been arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer while the officer was arresting another individual.

In her decision, Sparks noted that the only evidence provided in the case was the testimony of the youth and that of the police officer, each of reasonable credibility. "I believe that probably the situation in this particular case is the case of a young police officer who overreacted,” she wrote. “And I do accept the evidence of Mr. S. that he was told to shut up or he would be under arrest. That seems to be in keeping with the prevalent attitude of the day."

The last line of that paragraph became the basis of an appeal based upon an “apprehension of bias.” The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned Judge Sparks’ decision. However, the Supreme Court of Canada restored the acquittal in 1997, noting “[a] judge who happens to be black is no more likely to be biased in dealing with black litigants, than a white judge is likely to be biased in favour of white litigants.” All judges, the court held, were “entitled to the same presumption of judicial integrity and the same high threshold for a finding of bias.”

In 2020, Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law awarded Judge Sparks the Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service, — one of many she would receive — recognizing the many ways she gave back to her community during her career. Sparks helped launch a judicial mentorship initiative with the law school, focused on creating a network of support and encouragement for African Nova Scotian and Indigenous lawyers interested in becoming judges.

This initiative recognizes the importance of having diverse perspectives within the judiciary. Even from 2020 to 2021, only 10% of the 71 judges appointed were visual minorities, according to the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs of Canada.  “I didn’t have that kind of mentorship when I started my career,” she says adding that a good program could “help to enhance the qualifications of many Indigenous and Black lawyers.”

Now as a commissioner Sparks says she’s aware of how much work there is to be done. “The expectations are high in the Black community and of course it’s a rare opportunity for many community members to obtain clear title to their properties,” she says. Along with areas like East Preston, North Preston, Cherry Brook, Lincolnville, and Sunnyville, one of the communities, Sparks will be serving is her own hometown Lake Loon, which was a racially segregated community while she was growing up.

Though she will be missed on the bench, it appears it appears Sparks has no immediate plans to slow down and will continue, in her retirement, to put her considerable intellect, energy and talents to good use, forging her own path and creating positive change.