Bad judgment

Bad Judgment is a quintessential fall-from-grace story about a man from humble beginnings who rose to the top of the legal profession, only to be removed from the bench because of his bad judgment, the intolerant attitudes of the elite bar, and political necessity. What did Leo Landreville really do? And why were some of the most famous lawyers and politicians in Canada in the 1960s determined to end his judicial career? Landreville was appointed one of Her Majesty's justices in 1956. After moving from Sudbury to Toronto to take up his job at Osgoode Hall, he and his wife moved into the newly built and very fashionable Benvenuto Place and joined the best clubs. But his elevated status was to be short-lived. As it turned out, he had accepted a stock option from Northern Ontario Natural Gas when NONG obtained the gas franchise in Sudbury and he was the mayor. Soon after settling into his chambers at Osgoode Hall, he exercised the option and pocketed $117,000, without having laid out a cent. Landreville was not the only politician to benefit from his dealings with NONG. The 'Gas Scandal,' as it was called, brought an early end to the careers of three provincial Conservative cabinet mi