John Alexander Edmison, Q.C., was an appointed Member of the first Parole Board of Canada in 1959. Previously, he had been Assistant to the Principal of Queen’s University. Mr. Edmison practiced law in Montreal until his enlistment with the Black Watch, Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, in 1940. In 1945, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) appointed him as its Chief Liaison Officer to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. In France and Germany, he set up an organization for the care of refugees, displaced persons, and concentration camp survivors.
As a writer and speaker on penology and criminology, Mr. Edmison was interested in crime prevention, penal reform, and in the welfare of ex-prisoners. He was a member of the four-man Fauteux Committee appointed by the Minister of Justice to study probation, parole and clemency problems (1953-56). He was also a member of the first Parole Board of Canada from 1959 - 1969. In 1960, he received the “Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service” from the John Howard Society of Ontario.
From 1971-1980, Edmison donated his collection of criminology and penology materials to Lederman Law Library. This collection contains numerous books, articles, pamphlets, and reports. Each item contains a bookplate bearing his name. Items from the collection are listed in Omni.
The Edmison fonds are also housed at Queen’s University in the Queen’s Archives.
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