On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Ontario Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada. She is the first Indigenous person chosen to serve on Canada’s highest court and the appointment is celebrated as fulfilling an important role at the highest level of the country’s justice system.
O’Bonsawin has been a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa since 2017 and, according to the Premier’s Office, has “expertise in the areas of mental health, Gladue principles, labor law and employment, human rights and privacy. “
In a statement announcing the appointment, Trudeau said O’Bonsawin is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation and a fully bilingual Franco-Ontarian born in Hanmer, Ont.
Before making history as the first Indigenous woman to become a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, O’Bonsawin was general counsel at the Royal Ottawa, a mental health hospital in Ottawa. She began her legal career with the legal services of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and also worked as a lawyer for Canada Post.
In addition to teaching Indigenous law at the University of Ottawa and serving on the Board of Governors of the University of Ottawa, O’Bonsawin successfully defended his doctoral thesis on the application of Gladue principles, which allow courts to consider the experiences of Indigenous peoples when making sentencing decisions.
“Canada’s highest court has always lacked a person to interpret Canadian laws from an Indigenous lens — but not anymore,” Congress of Aboriginal Peoples National Chief Elmer St. Pierre said in a statement Friday. “O’Bonsawin will help balance Canada’s senior judiciary, providing vital insight into the country’s most important legal issues.”
AFN National Chief RoseAnn Archibald said O’Bonsawin is “doing #HERstory.”
“This is an important appointment at a critical time and Justice O’Bonsawin is a qualified choice,” Archibald tweeted.
Former senator, judge and Truth and Reconciliation Commission chairman Murray Sinclair, who advised O’Bonsawin on her candidacy for the post, said he knows how proud his community must be to see her achieve this. milestone.
“The court is strengthened and our decisions are better when there are diverse perspectives where they are most needed. This is especially true when it comes to the issues facing Canada’s long journey of reconciliation,” Sinclair said. “It is high time the court had a seat for an Indigenous judge, a judge who has seen firsthand the impact of colonialism on Indigenous communities.
Odanak First Nation Chief Richard O’Bomsawin, a distant cousin of the new Supreme Court Justice, backed up what Sinclair had suggested, telling CTV News that she has made her community “very, very proud.” and sets a positive example for other aspiring First Nations people.
“We always have to strive, push forward and aim for the stars,” he said. “And she has proven that it can be done.”
Before O’Bonsawin joins the other eight Supreme Court justices, the House of Commons Justice and Human Rights Committee will hear from Justice Minister David Lametti and the chairman of the independent advisory panel that reviewed this post, former Premier of Prince Edward Island, Wade MacLauchlan, about the selection process and his nomination.
Next, the committee will participate, along with members of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, in a question-and-answer session with O’Bonsawin to learn more first-hand about his career, experiences and goals in the new role. These measures were part of a change motivated by the transparency of the selection process carried out by the Liberals in 2016.
As part of her candidacy, O’Bonsawin wrote about her experience as a First Nations lawyer and said that as a child in a working-class home, it was her “dream” to become lawyer.
“Given my upbringing, it became apparent to me as a lawyer that my next goal was to become a judge in order to share my life’s experience and continue my public service,” she wrote. O’Bonsawin also said that his most significant contribution to the law and the pursuit of justice in Canada is his “effort to help all those involved in the justice and mental health system, with particular emphasis on peoples indigenous”.
“I strive for the judiciary to clarify legal issues in order to have an inclusive and compassionate justice system for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples,” she continued.
For Claudette Commanda, the first Indigenous woman to be named Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, Trudeau’s latest choice for the Supreme Court “says a lot.”
“What Michelle will bring to the table – or to the bench – she will bring her knowledge as a First Nations woman. She brings her knowledge as a lawyer, her knowledge as a judge, and that will help give vision deeper understanding of these issues,” Commanda told CTV News. “That’s what I consider reconciliation.”
In offering public congratulationsLametti called O’Bonsawin’s nomination a “historic moment” for the Supreme Court and for Canada.
The selection process for the next Supreme Court justice was launched in April. An independent advisory board chaired by former Prince Edward Island premier Wade MacLauchlan then reviewed the candidates and sent Trudeau a shortlist of names to consider.
“Her appointment is the result of an open, non-partisan selection process. I am confident that Justice O’Bonsawin will bring invaluable knowledge and contributions to our nation’s highest court,” Trudeau said in a statement.
O’Bonsawin’s appointment is intended to fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement on September 1 of Supreme Court Justice Michael Moldaver.
With files from Judy Trinh of CTV National News