Rouleau began his legal career when he was called to the bar in Quebec on December 16, 1868. He later became an inspector for the Ottawa and Pontiac Counties Catholic School Districts.
Rouleau first ran for public office on the municipal level in the County of Ottawa in 1874. He was unsuccessful.[3]
Legal career
Rouleau then made his career through political appointments as magistrate and judge at increasingly higher levels of the justice system. On July 12, 1876, he was appointed district magistrate in Ottawa County and held that position until 1883.
Later in 1885 he presided over the murder trials of several Indigenous men, 11 of whom he convicted and 8 were hanged.
On February 18, 1888, Rouleau vacated that position to accept an appointment to the Supreme Court of the North-West Territories, where he sat for cases in the Northern Alberta District. After the 1888 North-West Territories general election, Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal reappointed Rouleau as legal advisor to the North-West Territories Legislature. He held that position until dissolution of the legislature in 1891.
With his appointment to the Supreme Court, Rouleau moved just outside Calgary to a mission parish there, which had been founded by French-Canadian priests in the 1870s. There he and his brother founded Rouleauville, which they intended to be a French-speaking community. The village was later annexed by Calgary and was renamed the Mission District. Rouleau's house, built before 1896, stood until 1940, when it was replaced by an apartment building.[5]
Rouleau was on the Council when an 1892 assembly vote made English the only official language in the territories. French was reintroduced as an official language in the late 1980s. (By that time, the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan had been carved out of the NWT.) By the Northwest Territories' Official Languages Act (1988), nine native languages were also recognized as official for certain purposes, including in the territorial court.
Frog Lake trial
Rouleau, in his capacity of stipendiary magistrate, tried the case of Wandering Spirit, (Kapapamahchakwew) a Plains Cree war chief, and others for the murders committed during the Frog Lake Massacre and at Battleford (the murders of farm instructor Payne and Battleford farmer Barney Tremont).
Wandering Spirit, a Plains Cree war chief, Little Bear (Apaschiskoos), Walking the Sky (also known as Round the Sky), Bad Arrow, Miserable Man, Iron Body, Ika (also known as Crooked Leg) and Man Without Blood were tried for the murders. None of the accused were allowed legal counsel, and Rouleau sentenced each of them to death by hanging. He sentenced three others to hang as well, but their death sentences were commuted.[6]
Minister of Justice John Sparrow David Thompson reviewed the cases but mitigating circumstances were not taken into account, and in retrospect, justice seems to have been arbitrarily dispensed.[7]
^Gemmell, John Alexander (1889). The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1889. J. Durie & Son. pp. 394–395.
^Mulvaney, Charles Pelham (1885), The history of the North-West Rebellion of 1885 (Otter's March to Battleford) p.109, Toronto: A.H. Hovey & Co, retrieved 2014-04-10
^. Glenbow Museum. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
charles, rouleau, charles, borromée, rouleau, born, december, 1840, isle, verte, lower, canada, died, august, 1901, rouleauville, north, west, territories, 19th, century, canadian, politician, lawyer, judge, writer, served, stipendiary, magistrate, justice, su. Charles Borromee Rouleau born December 16 1840 L Isle Verte Lower Canada died August 25 1901 Rouleauville North West Territories was a 19th century Canadian politician lawyer judge and writer He served as stipendiary magistrate and justice of the Supreme Court of the North West Territories as well as legal advisor to the Northwest Territories Legislature 1 2 Charles Borromee Rouleau 1868 Contents 1 Early life 2 Legal career 3 Frog Lake trial 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditRouleau began his legal career when he was called to the bar in Quebec on December 16 1868 He later became an inspector for the Ottawa and Pontiac Counties Catholic School Districts Rouleau first ran for public office on the municipal level in the County of Ottawa in 1874 He was unsuccessful 3 Legal career EditRouleau then made his career through political appointments as magistrate and judge at increasingly higher levels of the justice system On July 12 1876 he was appointed district magistrate in Ottawa County and held that position until 1883 On September 28 1883 Rouleau was appointed to the North West Territories Council where he replaced Matthew Ryan He served his first term on the council with the title of stipendiary magistrate The NWT then included what later was split off to make modern day Yukon Alberta Saskatchewan and Nunavut In 1885 during the North West Rebellion his home in Battleford was looted and burned 4 Later in 1885 he presided over the murder trials of several Indigenous men 11 of whom he convicted and 8 were hanged On February 18 1888 Rouleau vacated that position to accept an appointment to the Supreme Court of the North West Territories where he sat for cases in the Northern Alberta District After the 1888 North West Territories general election Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal reappointed Rouleau as legal advisor to the North West Territories Legislature He held that position until dissolution of the legislature in 1891 With his appointment to the Supreme Court Rouleau moved just outside Calgary to a mission parish there which had been founded by French Canadian priests in the 1870s There he and his brother founded Rouleauville which they intended to be a French speaking community The village was later annexed by Calgary and was renamed the Mission District Rouleau s house built before 1896 stood until 1940 when it was replaced by an apartment building 5 Rouleau was on the Council when an 1892 assembly vote made English the only official language in the territories French was reintroduced as an official language in the late 1980s By that time the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan had been carved out of the NWT By the Northwest Territories Official Languages Act 1988 nine native languages were also recognized as official for certain purposes including in the territorial court Frog Lake trial EditRouleau in his capacity of stipendiary magistrate tried the case of Wandering Spirit Kapapamahchakwew a Plains Cree war chief and others for the murders committed during the Frog Lake Massacre and at Battleford the murders of farm instructor Payne and Battleford farmer Barney Tremont Wandering Spirit a Plains Cree war chief Little Bear Apaschiskoos Walking the Sky also known as Round the Sky Bad Arrow Miserable Man Iron Body Ika also known as Crooked Leg and Man Without Blood were tried for the murders None of the accused were allowed legal counsel and Rouleau sentenced each of them to death by hanging He sentenced three others to hang as well but their death sentences were commuted 6 Minister of Justice John Sparrow David Thompson reviewed the cases but mitigating circumstances were not taken into account and in retrospect justice seems to have been arbitrarily dispensed 7 Eight Indigenous men including Wandering Spirit were hanged on November 27 1885 in the largest mass hanging in Canada s history See also EditRouleau SaskatchewanReferences Edit ROULEAU CHARLES BORROMEE Dictionary of Canadian Biography Retrieved 22 October 2013 Genealogy Charles Borome Rouleau Retrieved 2014 03 29 Gemmell John Alexander 1889 The Canadian parliamentary companion 1889 J Durie amp Son pp 394 395 Mulvaney Charles Pelham 1885 The history of the North West Rebellion of 1885 Otter s March to Battleford p 109 Toronto A H Hovey amp Co retrieved 2014 04 10 Home of Charles B Rouleau Glenbow Museum Archived from the original on 2008 01 30 Retrieved 2007 11 12 Beal and Macleod Prairie Fire p 337 338 Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online Retrieved 2013 02 15 External links EditWorks by or about Charles Rouleau at Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Rouleau amp oldid 1134713200, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
