For the first time in Canadian history, women are in the majority sitting on the bench of the Supreme Court (SC). Eh yes. Finally. Five out of nine judges are now women.
The news went unnoticed in Quebec. However, it represents a major step forward for women in Canada. Not to mention that it reinforces diversity on all levels which, at the highest court in the country, has been gradually taking hold in recent years.
It is thanks to Mary T. Moreau, recently appointed by Justin Trudeau to the CS, that women are now in the majority there.
A highly respected Franco-Albertan jurist, Justice Moreau has been known for decades for her sustained defense of the rights of minority French-speaking communities. What they desperately need.
From several horizons
This diversity of the CS is also found in Judge Michelle O’Bonsawin. An Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, this seasoned jurist is renowned for her in-depth knowledge of Indigenous rights.
Justice Sheilah L. Martin, born in Montreal, is an expert, among other things, in commercial transactions, feminist legal theory and advanced constitutional law.
And what about Chief Justice Richard Wagner? A brilliant jurist particularly concerned with questions of ethics and transparency. Always in defense of much better access to a justice system that is far too expensive for most citizens.
The tower of Pisa
Born in Montreal and son of former Quebec Minister of Justice Claude Wagner, Richard Wagner, through his interviews of refreshing personal candor, is also a rarity for a chief justice of the CS.
While the Court of Appeal delivered a judgment last week surprisingly favorable to the CAQ law on secularism, perhaps this Supreme Court, more diverse than ever, will one day end up moving away from its bad reputation as a tower of justice. Pisa which, almost always, leans against Quebec. To be continued…