The decision of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appoint this Abenaquise member of the Odanak First Nation follows a process of reconciliation with the indigenous peoples victims of many discrimination scandals.
Le Monde with AFP
Canada has started a reconciliation process with its indigenous peoples. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to appoint, Friday, August 19, the Aboriginal judge Michelle O’Bonsawin on Friday, August 19 to sit at the country’s Supreme Court, which constitutes a historic first.
“I am convinced that [Michelle O’Bonsawin] will provide invaluable knowledge and contributions to the highest court in our country,” the Prime Minister said in a press release.
Mrs. O’Bonsawin is “perfectly bilingual” in French and in English, to which Justin Trudeau was committed to the time when French practice is down in Canada, according to recent official data.
“Various perspectives”
Judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice since 2017, she specialized in the fields of mental health and human rights.
“I believe that my experience as a French -speaking woman from the First Nations, mother, lawyer, academic and judge gives me an understanding and in -depth knowledge of the diversity of Canada because I, and my experience as Life, let’s be part of this diversity, “she wrote in the form she has completed to candidate and which was made public.
“My experiences have taught me that although discrimination is a reality in Canada, my abilities allow me to bring my part to our country and help us be a more inclusive society,” she Added.
His appointment was welcomed by Murray Sinclair, former president of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, a national survey of six years on the Aboriginal children’s boarding schools put in place in Canada between the end of the XIX e century and the 1990s.
“The Court is stronger and our decisions are better when there are various perspectives where they are most necessary. This is particularly true with regard to questions related to the long way to reconciliation of Canada” said the former senator in a statement. “It is more than time that the Court has a siege for an indigenous judge, a judge who has a direct knowledge of the impact of colonialism on indigenous communities”.
Visit of Pope Francis
The discrimination suffered by the natives are at the heart of a great debate within Canadian society, notably since the discovery, in the spring of 2021, of hundreds of tombs on the site of a former religious boarding school reserved for natives.
Pope Francis also went to Canada in late July to apologize for the abuses perpetrated by members of the Church in Aboriginal boarding schools.
With this appointment, Michelle O’Bonsawin becomes the fifth magistrate selected by Justin Trudeau on the new sites sitting at the court. The Liberal Prime Minister thus marks the highest legal body in the country.
In 2016, Mr. Trudeau’s government had made a profound reform of the mode of appointment of judges in order to guarantee the independence and transparency of their decisions. An “independent and impartial advisory committee” has been set up to recommend “qualified”, “bilingual” candidates and various horizons and experiences.
The nine current judges of the High Court – three women and six men – were appointed by the Governor General, representative of Queen Elizabeth II, on a proposal from the government. The judges are irremovable and can sit until the age of 75. M me o’Bonsawin must replace Michael Moldaver, who retires.
A non -binding procedure must still take place by the end of August before a parliamentary committee before Michelle O’Bonsawin took office. Then, he will return to Mary Simon, the first indigenous general governor, to confirm the appointment of the first indigenous magistrate.
Another appointment marked the history of the Supreme Court last year, when Mahmud Jamal became the first non -white person named in the court.