Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed Ontario judge Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada, making her the first Indigenous person to sit on the country’s highest bench.
A press release from the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday described O’Bonsawin as an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, as well as a bilingual franco-Ontarian.
“Justice O’Bonsawin is an accomplished jurist with expertise in the areas of mental health, Gladue principles, labour and employment law, human rights, and privacy law, and has been a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa since 2017,” the press release stated.
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She will fill the vacancy set to be left when Justice Michael Moldaver retires from the bench next month.
O’Bonsawin comes to the court after spending five years as a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa.
She has also taught law at the University of Ottawa and served as the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group’s general counsel for eight years.
The requirement for English-French bilingualism has been cited as a factor that previously complicated efforts to find Indigenous candidates for the court.
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