Montreal, Québec, Canada |

Robert Burns came from a working class francophone family, became a lawyer and legal advisor to trade unions, and in 1970 was elected as one of the first 7 Parti Québécois members of the l'Assemblée nationale. A life long socialist, he retired from politics in 1979 for health reasons, and was appointed as a Labour Court judge in 1980, where he served for 2 decades.