Setting a new precedent: George Dolhai (LL.B. ’87) named Director of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada
August 29, 2024
By Kaleigh Rodgers | Photography provided
A piece of advice from his first-year contracts professor still resonates for George Dolhai (LL.B. ’87) who was named Director of Public Prosecutions and Deputy Attorney General of Canada in June.
“Your challenge as a lawyer is to think about each question as if it’s a cube and turn it around to make sure you’re looking at it from all prospectives,” said Dolhai recalling the wisdom shared by the late Professor Jack Roberts.
Dolhai’s appointment follows a distinguished thirty-plus year career as a public prosecutor in which he’s applied this lens coupled with an underlying commitment to serving the Canadian public.
An inclination towards public service was fostered in Dolhai from a young age. In a statement to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in June, he shared that his parents instilled values of “helping and respecting others.” He added that his time working at Western Law’s Community Legal Services helped him realize that “law exists to help ordinary people trying to make do and not for the lawyers who are helping them.” This conviction propelled him to pursue a Master of Laws at Cambridge where he determined “his heart was in criminal law.”
Dolhai began his career in public prosecutions as a Federal Crown Attorney at the Department of Justice in Toronto and moved to Ottawa and worked in the Human Rights Law Section. He then went on to hold a series of progressively responsible counsel roles within the Department of Justice working within the Strategic Prosecution Policy Section, the National Security Group, and the Federal Prosecution Service.
While at the Department of Justice, Dolhai advised on criminal law prosecutorial policies and legislative initiatives, and national security legislation. This included the establishment of the first criminal organization provisions, the Preclearance Act, the revision of the criminal organization offences, and the Anti-terrorism Act, 2001. Looking back, he considers his role as a front-line prosecutor, his legislative contributions, and the opportunity to appear as counsel for the Attorney General before the Supreme Court on a number of occasions to be particularly meaningful.
“I enjoyed being a front-line prosecutor in Toronto very much, notwithstanding all of the other things I did, that is still one of my primary joys,” reflected Dolhai. “Going to the Supreme Court of Canada many times allows you to both deal with existing jurisprudence and where it should go in the future, which is wonderful because it goes beyond a matter of precedent. Normative questions are always associated with any question before that court.”
In 2006, Dolhai was presented with another opportunity to help set a new precedent for Canada’s criminal justice system. He joined the Public Prosecution Service of Canada as the Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions upon its creation and was appointed as one of the two first Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions. Dolhai was instrumental in establishing and operationalizing the organization whose purpose was set forth in the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, 2006, as strengthening “the twin goals of institutional independence and ultimate ministerial accountability.”
Today, as the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dolhai leads Canada’s “national, independent and accountable prosecuting authority,” which, according to their website, serves to “prosecute federal offences and provides legal advice and assistance to law enforcement.” A day’s work in the role varies greatly. Some days range from approving financial decisions to overseeing human resources. Others include approving policies to guide prosecutors and approving direct indictments on federal offences related to drugs, money laundering, organized crime, tax evasion, terrorism, regulatory and environmental offences, and all Criminal Code offences in the territories.
The job also offers Dolhai an opportunity to delve deeper into the obligations of the criminal justice system, and the government more broadly, in supporting equity-deserving groups. He shares that the Public Prosecution Service of Canada is currently focused on both addressing systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in their workforce, so the diversity of the institution better reflects the populations served.
“We’re continuing to determine how we can address overrepresentation of Indigenous people and equity-seeking groups in the criminal justice system. We need to continue to counter bias and systemic discrimination,” Dolhai explained about some of the organization’s key priorities.
“We need to address underlying causes related to substance use and those who come into the criminal justice system and understand what relationships we can build including those who can assist with treatment, housing, education and income for those confronting substance use disorders. We strive to prosecute fairly and effectively so courts can make decisions based on the evidence. All our efforts are part of protecting Canadians.”
Whether shaping policy or prosecuting federal offences to ensure public safety, leading and advising colleagues, or re-imagining how to support equity-deserving communities, Dolhai draws motivation from serving others and the relationships he has built along the way.
“As a federal Crown, and still now, you don’t have a client other than the Canadian public interest. I ask myself what the right thing to do is in accordance with the policies we have and that is really liberating, that allows you to focus on the essential elements of the question,” said Dolhai. “Getting to work with an awful lot of smart, committed people, at various stages of their career in various fields is one of the greatest parts of it. The thing you remember most in your career is the opportunities to work with really wonderful, dedicated people.”
Dolhai advises future lawyers interested in public prosecution to consider where they want to work, the differences in the work as a provincial or federal Crown, and where they might have the most impact on the populations served.
“If I were beginning right now, I would apply in one of the Northern Territories; I don’t think anyone would have a more challenging opportunity than being a prosecutor there. The issues in relation to the communities being served, the opportunities for reconciliation, and the vastness of the geography are all front and centre every day,” said Dolhai. “It’s a very special place with wonderful people to serve.”
For Dolhai, looking at life from all perspectives includes making time for hobbies like painting and travelling with his wife, Catherine Coulter (LL.B. ’88), whom he met at Western Law. Above all, he emphasizes that the most important lesson he would share with any lawyer is to always prioritize their personal life.
“What you do in the law is important but what you do with your family and friends is always more important, they should always come first,” said Dolhai. “If you lose sight of that, then likely you won’t be the lawyer you should be.”
