Lawyer Peter Clyne dies at 73

By Lincoln DePradine

Peter Clyne

The first order of businesss  at the official launch of  the Peeks Toronto  Caribbean Carnival 2018 on Tuesday was a public tribute to the late Peter Clyne, a Grenadian-Canadian attorney and former director of the Festival Management Committee (FMC), organizers of the carnival.

A moment of silence was observed for Clyne, 73, who died on July 6 last, after a brief  illness.

“We should all be appreciative of Peter Clyne’s contribution to the community, professionally and socially,’’ Derrick James, Grenada’s Consul General in Toronto, told the Caribbean Camera.

Peter Clyne came from a well-known Grenadian family of lawyers. once headed by his late uncle, George E.D. Clyne, who served briefly as Grenada’s Chief Minister in 1961.

A graduate of Presentation Brothers’ College (PBC) in Grenada,  Clyne obtained his tertiary education in Canada. He was a student at McMaster University  in Hamilton, Ontario and at the University of Ottawa. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1975, ran his own law office and also was associated with the Meridian Group and with the Grenada-based George E.D. Clyne Law Office. He was a member of the Grenada Bar Association.

“Over the past 43 years,’’ said a family statement, “Peter has represented numerous clients in all areas of law and statutory causes of actions arising out of automobile accidents, insurance disputes, family matters, wills and probate matters, residential and commercial real estate matters. Peter personally handled all trial matters on behalf of his clients.’’

Apart from his volunteer work with the FMC,  Clyne served on various boards in Toronto’s Caribbean and Black community, and was a founding member of the PBC Alumni of Toronto and of the Toronto Support Group of the New National Party, Grenada’s ruling political organization, headed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell.

He leaves his two children, Justin and Camille, granddaughter, Rachel, and former spouse, Carole.

A  funeral service for Peter Clyne  will be held tomorrow at St Bartholomew Catholic Church in Scarborough.