Canada’s Supreme Court to get first Indigenous justice with O’Bonsawin nomination

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.

She will fill the vacancy set to be left when Justice Michael Moldaver retires from the bench next month.

More to come.

by The Canadian Press