The prime minister announced on Friday that Michelle O’Bonsawin had been selected to fill an upcoming vacancy on the court. O’Bonsawin, an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, has been a judge in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa since 2017. She has also taught law at the University of Ottawa and previously worked in legal services for the RCMP and Canada Post. The Franco-Ontarian was selected following the impending retirement of Justice Michael Moldaver. “I am confident that Justice O’Bonsawin will bring invaluable knowledge and contributions to our nation’s highest court,” Trudeau said in a statement, adding that she had been selected through an “open, non-partisan” process. Unlike hearings in the United States, where the justices’ opinions are heavily scrutinized and senators often use the process to launch their own political ambitions, Canada’s process is much less controversial. Parliament’s justice committee will meet next week to hear from the justice minister and the head of the independent advisory council on judicial appointments to Canada’s highest court. O’Bonsawin will then field questions from the committee and the senate. In her application questionnaire, O’Bonsawin described how her Indigenous identity in Canada had shaped both her life and her legal career, including discrimination and ridicule as a young Indigenous girl growing up off reserve. “I believe that my experience as a Francophone First Nations woman, parent, lawyer, scholar and judge provides me with a lived understanding and knowledge of Canada’s diversity because I, and my life experience, are part of that diversity,” he said. he said. He also emphasized the importance of de-stigmatizing mental health issues and the need for an “inclusive” and “compassionate legal system” for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. On Friday, Justice Minister David Lametty called the nomination a “historic moment” for the high court. For decades, indigenous groups have called for a justice that represents a different way of understanding the law. “Canada’s highest court has always lacked a person to interpret Canadian laws through an aboriginal lens – but not anymore,” said Elmer St. Pierre, the national head of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. “Indigenous people have long faced discrimination, racism and prejudice in Canada’s justice system, resulting in our people being overrepresented in courts and prisons. Governments must continue to ensure that Indigenous voices contribute to the creation, interpretation and enforcement of laws.” O’Bonsawin’s nomination is the second landmark appointment to the court. In 2021, Trudeau selected Mahmoud Jamal to the bench, making him the first black justice to serve as a high court judge.
