Canada's Trudeau nominates first Indigenous person to highest court
August 20, 2022, 9:31 am

Canada's Trudeau nominates first Indigenous person to highest court

Justin Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated the first Indigenous individual to the country’s highest court on Friday (August 19), the Anadolu Agency reported.

The historic announcement, if approved by a House of Commons committee, a press release from the prime minister's office said, would see Michelle O'Bonsawin, an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, become a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada.

O'Bonsawin is a fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian and has served as a judge on the Ontario Superior Court of Justice since 2017.

O'Bonsawin said in her application questionnaire to the Ministry of Justice: "As an Abenaki woman, I have a deep appreciation of the situation of Indigenous peoples.”

"I have seen how the Indigenous perspective can be different from that of the rest of Canada's population, while recognizing that all our unique perspectives are at the heart of our country.

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She said: "Such experiences have also shown me that all Canadians are different and unique, while we all have common elements at the core of our points of view.”

Trudeau said in a statement on his website that "her nomination 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 country's highest court."

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According to the press release: "Justice O’Bonsawin is an accomplished jurist with expertise in the areas of mental health, Gladue principles, labor and employment law, human rights, and privacy law, and has been a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa since 2017."

Gladue principles are a way for a judge to consider, when sentencing someone, the unique experience of Indigenous peoples concerning colonization by Europeans.

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O'Bonsawin will appear before a committee to answer questions on Aug. 24 before her actual appointment to the court. She would replace the retiring judge, Michael Moldaver.

Her historic appointment to the court is the second in as many years. In 2021, the first person of color, Mahmud Jamal, joined the nine-member supreme court. As well, Mary Simon became Canada's first Indigenous governor general in 2021.

Source: aa

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