Harry Rankin

Harry Rankin (May 8, 1920 – February 26, 2002) was a Vancouver lawyer and long term member of the Vancouver City Council.

Rankin was born Harry Riffkin in Vancouver to secular Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. His father worked at a factory while his mother grew up in Glasgow's working class Jewish community.

At 14, Rankin dropped out of secondary school to work in a bakery and through the trade union he got involved in politics. During World War Two he served in the army with Vancouver's Seaforth Highlanders. They fought in Italy where he was wounded during the Battle of Ortona.

After the war he completed his secondary education and pursued undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia, where he also earned a law degree. During his time at U.B.C., he joined the Communist University Club, briefly serving as its vice-president.

Communists were banned from joining the bar and the Law Society of British Columbia interviewed Rankin at length prior to admitting him to the bar about his views on God, whether he would defend his country if attacked, and whether he was a member of the Communist Party of Canada, then called the Labor-Progressive Party, something he was able to deny as the Communist University Club was an independent and unaffiliated organization. In the wake of the Law Society refusing to admit Gordon Martin to the bar on account of his being an avowed communist, Rankin had to sign a declaration that he was not a communist prior to being allowed to join. He went on to become head of the Law Society in 1979 (a position then known as Treasurer, later known as President).

As a lawyer, Rankin fought for and helped establish the province's legal aid system. In 1950 he was one of the founding members of a committee that created a list of lawyers who were willing to take on cases, mostly pro bono, preceding the establishment of the BC Legal Aid Society by 20 years.

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