Peter A. Cumming

BA, LLB, LLM

Honorary Doctor of Laws

Peter A. Cumming has dedicated his life’s work to ensuring Indigenous rights and laws are protected.

Born in Winnipeg, Cumming is a United College alumnus, graduating in 1959. Upon graduation, he began his law studies at the University of Manitoba, serving as President of the Law Students Association in his final year. He later studied at Harvard Law School as the recipient of the Mackenzie King Scholarship. While then practicing law in Winnipeg, Cumming became involved as a volunteer advising Indigenous persons as to their rights.

In 1968, Cumming joined Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, Toronto, where he taught contracts, commercial law, tax, fiscal federalism, energy law, and Indigenous rights. It was during this time that he became very involved in First Nations rights.

He worked to develop the field of Indigenous law in the 1970s when there were very few lawyers or academics in the field. He spoke extensively in Canada and countries around the world about Indigenous rights and issues. Championing the recognition and protection of Indigenous rights was particularly important to Cumming, especially with the development of oil and gas resources already underway in the Arctic. In 1972, he co-edited the first comprehensive legal text in Canada on Indigenous rights, Native Rights in Canada (2^nd edition).

From 1978 to 1995, Cumming was appointed by the Ontario and Canadian governments to act as Chair of many human rights tribunals involving very important legal issues of first instance under the new legislation by each level of government.

Cumming was retained by various Indigenous organizations to represent them in their negotiations with the Government of Canada. Through this work, both as a lawyer and scholar, he played a crucial role in the negotiations that led to the first comprehensive land claim settlements involving federal lands in the 1990s.

His commitment to Indigenous rights also extended to the classroom at Osgoode Hall Law School and as a lecturer at other universities. He developed courses and seminars exploring Indigenous law, which gave future generations of lawyers the ability to make their own contributions to the field.

Cumming’s work was recognized by the Province of Ontario in 1984 when he was appointed Queen’s Counsel. In 1995, he was named Professor Emeritus at York University, and appointed to what is now named the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. His career as a judge involved in particular the development of the law relating to class actions and significant decisions for the specialized Commercial List. Since his retirement in 2013, Cumming has been working as a mediator and arbitrator.