Justin Trudeau appoints first Indigenous Supreme Court justice, Michelle O’Bonsawin

A historic first, and a new gesture towards reconciliation between Canada and its Indigenous peoples. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed an Indigenous judge, Michelle O’Bonsawin, to sit on the country’s Supreme Court on Friday, August 19.

Judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice since 2017, Michelle O’Bonsawin is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation in Quebec. Among his areas of specialization acquired throughout his career, mental health and human rights. “As an Indigenous woman growing up in Northern Ontario, I realized the need for dedicated people to provide a strong and representative voice to those who cannot speak for themselves”wrote the judge in her application questionnaire made public by the government.

She is also “perfectly bilingual” in French and in English, specifies the Prime Minister, who had undertaken to appoint someone who meets this criterion at a time when the practice of French is in decline in Canada, according to official data. Michelle O’Bonsawin still has to follow ua non-binding procedure before Parliament by the end of August before taking office. His appointment comes just under a year after that of Mahmud Jamal, the first non-white person appointed to the Canadian Supreme Court in October 2021.