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 ©
Copyright © 2004-2020 Dawn E. Monroe. All rights reserved. |
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The names appearing are just a fraction of the Canadian
women of accomplishment.
Check out The Famous Canadian Women 's
section ON THE JOB
which contains mini profiles of 3000
Canadian Women of Achievement.
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Many lawyers went on to become politicians. Be sure to check out
the Politicians section as well. |
|
1880's |
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Clara Brett
Martin.
Born Toronto, Ontario circa 1874. Died October 30, 1923. After receiving
an honours BA from Trinity College in Toronto in 1888, The Law Society of
Upper Canada refused to accept her as a student. Enlisting the help of
notable and forceful people of the day, including, Dr Emily Stowe, Ontario
Premier Oliver Mowat and Lady Aberdeen, to force legislation that would
allow women as barristers. In 1897 she
became the 1st woman lawyer in the
British
Empire. Even though she was licensed she did not often enter court. Her presence
in the court room caused too much of a ruckus. It would not be until the
middle of the century that women would be able to comfortably represent
their profession in the courts. |
|
1900’s |
| Mabel
Priscilla Penery French.
Born 1881. Died 1955. After graduating with distinction in law from
King’s College in 1905 she petitioned to be admitted to the Bar in New
Brunswick. She was originally denied because she was not, according to
definition, a “person”. Applying pressure in various ways
she became the 1st
woman lawyer in New Brunswick. In 1907 New Brunswick passed a
statute to permit women to be admitted to the legal profession. By 1910
Mabel had resettled in British Columbia and was again applying for
admittance to the Bar. Once again the provincial law association
declared that she was not a “Person” and therefore could not be admitted
to the Bar in the province of British Columbia. Once again pressure was
applied, mainly from womens groups in the province and in February
Attorney –General William Bowser bowed to pressure and introduced An Act
to Remove the Disability of Women So Far as Relates to the Study and
Practice of Law. The Act passed with unanimous support in the provincial
Legislature. Mabel French became the 1st woman lawyer
admitted to the Bar in British Columbia.
Source: Women Lawyers
in British Columbia by W. Wesley Pue. Online (Accessed March 2014)
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|
1910's |
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Annie Langstaff.
Born
1887, Alexandria, Ontario. Died June 29, 1975, Montreal, Quebec. Her
husband deserted her and disappeared leaving her to raise their daughter
as a single parent. In 1914-15 she was
the 1st woman in Quebec to
receive a degree in Law, from McGill University.
At this time, by provincial law no woman could engage in
professional businesses without the permission from her husband. Since
her husband was not around it was not possible for her to apply to be
called to the Bar in Quebec. She would continue to push to become a
lawyer but it was not until April 29, 1941 that the Bar Act was changed
to allow women to the Bar. On January 10, 1942 four women were the 1st
to be called to the Bar in Quebec. Annie herself
never was admitted to the Bar.
She wrote articles on family law for popular women’s journals but never
practiced the profession for which she had fought.
Sources:
McGill women raising the bar by Pascal Zamprelli, McGill Reporter
Vol. 39. No. 12, March 1, 2007 : The Canadian Encyclopedia Online
accessed June 2013. |
| Mary McNulty
Born 1895 Ottawa, Ontario. Died May 2, 1972. At 16, she and a friend
founded the Equal Franchise Association, working to achieve the vote for
women. Mary went on to study Law and was the 1st woman on the
debating team at Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar in
Ontario in 1918. She became the 1st woman to practice law in the city of
Ottawa. She was however disillusioned when she did not
receive worthwhile cases and she opened the Cloverleaf Dress ship and
went on to be a retail buyer of clothing for a large Department store.
The second woman lawyer in Ottawa arrived only in 1950. She married
Albert Alphonse Fix in 1931. After her husband’s death in 1945 Mary
began to show an interest in politics. She was an alderman in the
Township of Toronto and in 1953 served as Deputy Reeve, then acting
Reeve and from 1955 through 1958 she served as Mayor. In 1959 she became
Warden of Peel County only to return to run successfully as Reeve in
1961. A park named in her honour was established in what is now
Mississauga. Mary was also a founding member of the Toronto Township
Historical Society, now Mississauga Heritage Foundation.
Source:
Diversifying the bar; Law Society of Upper Canada online accessed
January 2013.:: Heritagemississauga.ca/page/mary-fix. Accessed March
2003. |
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Frances Lillian Fish.
Born
December 1888, Newcastle, New Brunswick. Died 1975. She studied at the
University of New Brunswick and earned her B.A. in 1910. At school she
enjoyed an active life that included basketball and ice hockey. She
obtained her teaching license teaching 1911/12 in Winnipeg where she did
not enjoy good health. She returned to New Brunswick teaching for
another three years. During this time she also earned in 1913 her M.A.
from the University of Chicago. She thought of doing a PhD but did not
complete the program.
On
September 10, 1918 she was the 1st woman to graduate
Dalhousie University with a Law Degree. And she was the first woman
called to the Bar in Nova Scotia.
She was the 7th
woman in Canada to become a lawyer. Shortly after graduation she left
the Maritimes working as a paralegal in Ottawa and later in Montreal. In
February 1934 she was called to the Bar in her home province of New
Brunswick and in June of that year she became the 1st woman
to argue a case before the appeal Division of the Supreme Court of New
Brunswick. New Brunswick woman were legislated the right to vote in 1919
but they were not allowed to run for a seat in the Legislature until
1934. The following year Frances Fish was the 1st woman to be
elected to the New Brunswick Legislature. In 1947 she was New
Brunswick’s 1st female County Deputy Magistrate.
Sources: New Brunswick Women’s History Accessed 2012. “Everyone called
her Frank…” by Barry Cahill, Journal of New Brunswick Studies
Vol. 2 2011 Online accessed June 2013. |
|
1920's |
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Lida Bell Pearson.
Born June
7, 1895, Newmarket, Ontario. Died February 18, 1987, Preston, Ontario.
Lida’s mother dies shortly after her birth and she was raised by her
aunts until she was 11. She graduated from Victoria College, University
of Toronto in 1918. She had enjoyed varsity sports, especially
basketball and field hockey. She then studied law and was called to the
bar in Ontario in 1921. On November 3, 1921
she was the 1st woman lawyer in Preston Ontario with her own practice.
In 1927 she married Gerald Sturdy, a Preston draughtsman and sold her
established law practice to Ruby Wigle. In 1933 she repurchased her law
practice replacing Ruby as Town Solicitor. In 1935 she was the 1at woman
to run for the position of School Trustee but was only successful with
her second try for the office, serving from 1936-1945. She was
Vice-Chair of the Board 1937-1936. She maintained her membership in the
Galt Federation of University Women from 1954-1965. She supported her
church women’s activities and in 1960 she became the 1st
President of the United Church Women. In 1962 she was appointed Queen’s
Council and continued her law practice until 1967.
Source:
City of Cambridge, Hall of Fame, Online Accessed March 2013. |
|
Vera L. Parsons.
Born
1889. Died 1973. As a teenager she suffered from polio which resulted in
her having to walk with a cane for the rest of her life. Vera was not
one to let a small handicap keep her in the shadows of life. She earned
her B.A. in modern languages from the University of Toronto and went to
Bryn Maur in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. where she earned her master’s degree.
She was fluent in Italian and attended the University of Rome, Italy but
returned to Canada before she completed her doctorate. She worked with
Italian immigrants in the Toronto area and soon found that they required
more legal help. Vera decided to become a lawyer and after attending
Osgoode Law School she was called to the Ontario Bar in
1924. Most women
lawyers, and there were not many opted for real estate law but Vera had
a keen interest in criminal law. She became the
1st woman to be a criminal defense
lawyer in Ontario and the 1st woman lawyer to appear before a
judge and jury in Canada. She became a partner in the law
firm of Horkins, Graham and Parsons. In 1944 she became the 3rd
woman in Ontario named to King’s Counsel. She was the 1st
woman lawyer in Canada to defend an accused client charged with murder.
She called for more probation officers to counter repeat offenders and
she also pressed for more institutions like trade schools for
rehabilitation of prisoners. In the 1930’s her private life allowed her
to relax on an island cottage Temogami in
northeastern Ontario. She enjoyed playing the piano, collecting art and
traveling as well. She worked well into her 80’s before she retired.
The Vera L. Parson Prize for criminal procedure is offered for the
Ontario Bar admissions course.
Source:
Crossing the Bar: an exhibition at the Law Society of Upper Canada
Museum 1993. Online accessed January 2013. |
|
Annie Epstein Baker.
Born
1908. Died 2005. Annie studied law and was called to the Bar in Ontario
in 1929. Annie may have been the 1st Jewish
woman called to the Bar in Ontario.
Source
Diversifying the Bar: Lawyers make history. Online Accessed May
2013. |
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Edith Louise Patterson.
Born
1891, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died 1980. Edith attend University in
Montreal and Toronto and studied law to be called to the Bar in Ontario
in 1915. She was one of the few women lawyers in the 1920’s she appeared
in court in civil and divorce cases.
In 1929 she
was appointed a judge in the juvenile court and became the 1st
woman to be a member of the Law Society of British Columbia. She
married Hamilton Read, her law partner of more than 20 years. She
retired in 1970 after more than five decades in her profession.
Source:
Diversifying the bar; Law Society of Upper Canada online accessed January 2013.: |
|
1930's |
| Ruth Mildred 'Ruby' Wigle.
Born
1893, Manitoba. Married Name Fish. After her studies at law school she
was called to the Ontario Bar in 1926. She purchased a law practice from
Linda Bell Pearson Sturdy who had recently married and wished to join
her husband who was working in Chicago. Ruby was a member of the Women’s
law Association of Ontario. She would become
one of the 1st women town solicitors in Ontario when she worked in
Preston, Ontario 1931 to 1933. She later moved to Sault Ste
Marie, Ontario, her home town, to work with her husband.
Source:
Diversifying the bar: Lawyers Make history. Law Society of Upper
Canada Online accessed January 2013. |
|
Helen Alice
Kinnear .
Born
May 6, 1894 Cayuga, Ontario. Died April 25, 1970 She graduated from the
University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall
 Law
School and was called to the Ontario
bar, to become a lawyer, in 1920. She practiced law in Port Colborne,
Ontario. After the death of her father in 1924 she opened her own practice until 1943, when she was appointed county-court judge for Haldimand
County. In 1934 she became the 1st woman in the
British Commonwealth to be created a King's Council.
In 1935 she became the 1st woman lawyer in
Canada to appear before the Supreme Court of Canada. In the 1940's
after two previous failed attempst she was the Liberal Party nominee for
her riding but she relinquished her role to a mand and she never ran to
be a candidate again. In 1943 she became a county-court Judge in
Haldimand County, Ontario becoming the 1st woman in Canada appointed a
judge by the federal government. In 1947 she was appointed judge of the
Juvenile Court the 1st woman in the British Commonwealth appointed as a
county court judge. When she attended the
Commonwealth and Empire Law Conference in 1955 she was recognized
as the only woman in the Commonwealth to have been made a county court
judge. In 1954,she was appointed to two
Royal
Commissions: the Royal Commission for the Criminal Law
Relating to Sexual Psychopaths and the Royal Commission Relating to the
Defense of Insanity. In 1961
her il health forced her to retire and she returned home to Port
Colborne. In 1965 she received a John Howard Society Medal for her
services. In 1993 the Canadian Post Office issued a commemorative
stamp to honour the achievements of this woman Lawyer. In 1999 her home town
of Port Colborne declared her home an historic town site. (2019)
Stamp used with permission
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Marion Ironquil Meadmore.
Born 1936
Peepeekisis First Nation Reserve, Saskatchewan. Like many of her
generation she was forced to leave home and attend residential School.
In 1954 she married Ronald Hector Meadmore (1933-2013). She attended the
University of Manitoba and in 1977 she became the 1st
indigenous woman lawyer in Canada. She is the founder of several
aboriginal organizations including the Canadian Indian Lawyer
Association (Now Indigenous Bar Association), National Indian
Brotherhood, the Indian and Métis Friendship Center, the Kinew Housing,
and the National Indigenous Council of Elders (NICE). In 1985 She was
inducted into the Order of Canada. Since 2011 she has been actively
involved on the National Council of Indigenous Elders for the Creation
of Wealth Forum. In 2010 she was honoured at the Keeping the Fires
Burning aboriginal awards celebrating female leaders for preserving
First Nations culture and serving as role models for younger
generations. In 2015 the University of Manitoba presented her with a
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Source:
Don Marks, “What is the Use in Spending so Much Time Studying
Failure’ CBC.ca May 14, 2015;
Matt
Preprost, “Gala recognizes accomplishments”. Winnipeg Free Press
June 18, 2010 Page A13. |
|
1940's |
|
Edra Isles Saunders Ferguson.
née
Saunders. Born 1907, St Thomas, Ontario. Died November 15, 2011,
Toronto, Ontario. She did her undergraduate studies at Alma College and
then attended law school in the 1920’s and was called to the Bar in
Ontario in 1930. She joined her father’s law firm of Saunders & Ingrham.
In 1936 she was elected as the town’s 1st
woman alderman and in December 1937 she ran unsuccessfully
for Mayor of St Thomas.
She
married Donald Harvey Ferguson and the couple had two children.
She was the 1st woman judge to be
named to the Small Claims Court when it was established. From 1940-1943
she was volunteering with the National Council of Women of
Canada leading the National Convention on laws concerning woman and
children. Also in the 1940’s she initiated a Red Cross Clinic in Guelph,
Ontario. She became the 1st woman president of the St Thomas
Children’s Aid Society and the 1st
woman appointed to the Senate of the University of Western Ontario.
Many Toronto Lawyers new her affectionately as Ma Ferguson.
In 2002 she received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal and in 2011 she was
inducted into the Order of Canada, for her achievements in law, politics
and her advocacy of women’s rights. The University of Victoria offers
the Edra Saunders Ferguson Scholarship in her honour.
Sources:
Diversifying the bar; Law Society of Upper Canada online accessed
January 2013. Obituary, St Thomas Times Journal November 2011. |
|
Constance Garner-Short.
Born
1910, Montreal, Quebec. Died 1959. She attended McGill University,
Montreal and obtained a law degree in 1934. As women were still not
called to the Bar in the province of Quebec at this time she sought work
as best she could. She worked for the Portuguese Consulate and at the
beginning of World War ll she joined the Red Cross Transportation
Service as a driver. On January 10, 1942
she was one of 4 women who were the 1st called to the Bar in Quebec.
The other
women were Elizabeth Monk (1898-1980), Suzanne Raymond Filion and
Marcelle Hémond-Lacoste. Constance was in 1947 the 1st woman
to appear in the Quebec Court of Appeals. Source: The History of
McMaster, Meighen (Law firm) by Doug Metchell and Judy Slinm.
McGill-Queen’s Press 1989. |
|
Marcelle Hémond-Lacoste.
Born
1877? On January 10 1942 she was one of 4
women who were the 1st women admitted to the Bar in the
Province of Quebec. In 1966 she retired after 60 years as
President of the Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal. She was 89 years old
when she retired. |
| Elizabeth Carmichael Monk.
Born
August 4, 1898, Montreal, Quebec. Died December 26, 1980, Montreal,
Quebec. In 1923 she earned a degree in
Law
from McGill University. She was the 1st woman to win the
faculty’s gold medal for academic excellence.
Unfortunately
at the time she graduated women were not allowed to be called to the Bar
in the province of Quebec. She would fight, cajole, and wait almost 20
years before she was called to the Bar. In 1934 she was admitted to the
Bar in Nova Scotia but this was not home.
On January 10, 1942,
Elizabeth was one of 4 women to be the 1st women called to
the Bar in Quebec. The other
women were Constance Garner-short (1910-1959), Suzanne Raymond Filion
and Marcelle Hémond-Lacoste. Elizabeth practiced corporate and became
the 1st Quebec woman appointed as Queen’s Counsel. She worked
with the Montreal Citizen Committee, the Quebec National Federation of
University women and Canadian Federation of University Women. In 1991
she was the recipient of the Méite du Barreau.
Source:
Les pionnières dans le métiers non-traditionnels (copyright 2004 by
Sophie Lecerte and Karine Boisverts) Online. Accessed June 2013. |
|
Olga Chumak.
Born,
Toronto, Ontario 1919. Died 2003. She studied law and was called to the
bar in Ontario in 1944 becoming
the 1st woman lawyer of Ukrainian
heritage in the province. In 1946 she married Doctor Martin
Chepesiuk but did not give up her law practice. All her live she was an
active advocate for Ukrainian culture and traditions.
Source:
Diversifying the bar: Lawyers makin history. Biographies of Early
Exceptional Ontario Lawyers. Online Accessed January 2013. |
| Gretta Wong Grant.
Born July
31, 1921 London, Ontario. She was raised in London Ontario where her
family were the only Chinese people in town. Her father believed that
all his children, both boys and girls should get an education and study
for the professions. Gretta argued with family members when she was
young and they teased her saying that she should become a lawyer. Gretta
earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario
before attending Osgoode Law School. She was called to the bar in
Ontario in 1946 without knowing,
nor really caring that she was the
1st
Chinese Canadian woman to practice Law. Despite the
discrimination against the Chinese in Toronto she was able to complete
her articling at McCarthy and McCarthy where she reported to a family
acquaintance Leighton McCarthy. December 9, 1950 she married a fellow
lawyer James Alan R. Grant and the couple would have four children. Both
families accepted the interracial marriage with little question. Gretta
stayed at home much of the 1950’s raising her children but she
maintained her membership in the Low Society of Upper Canada. She also
kept up to date by working with her husband when he brought work home.
Late in the 1950’s she took a job as a City Solicitor in London. In the
1960’s she founded the Middlesex [county] Women’s Law Association. From
1967 through 1988 she worked in London’s first Legal Aid Office. She did
spend one year away from London working as the Area Director of the York
County Legal Aid Society. She was the 1st woman trustee of
the Middlesex Law Association and served as president in 1981. After
retirement she served as director of the London office of the Chinese –
Canadian Council. In 1989 she was working with the City of London Race
Relations Advisory Committee.
Sources:
Crossing the Bar :an exhibition of the Law Society of Upper
Canada Museum, 1993. Online Accessed January 2013; Gretta Wong Grant,
Canada’s first Chinese-Canadian female Lawyer by Constance
Backhouse. Online Accessed January 2013.; Road to Justice: the legal
struggle for equal rights for Chinese Canadians. Online Accessed January
2013.
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|
1950's |
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Stella Avura Panarites.
Born
1924, Cobalt, Ontario Died 1986. Stella earned her B.A. from Queen’s
University in 1949. She studied law and was called to the Bar in
1953.
She was the
1st woman lawyer of Greek heritage to be called to the Bar in
Ontario. She practiced law in Orillia, Midland, Gravenhurst and
North Bay, Ontario. She was a member of the Hellenic Canadian Lawyers
Association.
Source:
Diversifying the bar: Lawyers Make history. Law Society of Upper
Canada Online |
|
Violet Pauline King Henry.
née
October 18, 1929 Calgary, Alberta. Died March 30, 1982 New York City, New
York, U.S.A. Violet graduated from the University of Alberta where she
had financed her studies by teaching piano lessons. Evan as far back as High
School she had wanted to be a criminal lawyer so it was no surprise that she
went on to study law. She was the only woman to graduate in her class in
1953 and the 1st Black Canadian to obtain a Law Degree in Alberta.
June 2,
1954 she became the 1st Black Canadian to be admitted to the Bar in Alberta
and the 1st Black woman to become a lawyer in Canada. She practiced criminal
law in Calgary for a couple of years. Violet then relocated to Ottawa to
work for the federal government at the Department of Citizenship from April
1956 through to 1962. In 1963 she relocated to Newark New Jersey, U.S.A. to
work as executive Director of the YMCA community branch. In 1965 she married
Godfrey C. Henry and the couple had one daughter. In 1969 she relocated to
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. still working with the YMCA. In 1976
She became the 1st Woman appointed to an executive position into the YMCA in
the U.S.A. she she was appointed to the National Council of the YMCA.
In 1998 she was inducted into the National YMCA Hall of Fame.
(2019) |
|
1970's |
|
Constance R. Glube. née Lepofky. Born November 23,
1931 Ottawa, Ontario. Died February 15, 2016, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In
1952 she earned her BA at McGill University, Montreal and married
Richard Glube. The couple would have 4 children. By 1955 she had
graduated in law at Dalhousie University and entered the Bar of Nova
Scotia. In 1974 she became the Manager of the City of Halifax, the 1st
woman in Canada to hold such a position. In 1977 she received the Award
of Merit from a grateful City of Halifax. September 21, 1977 she was
appointed In 1982 she was appointed 21st Chief Justice of Nova Scotia
and in 1998 Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Nova Scotia, once
again being the 1st woman in Canada to be appointed to such a position,
retiring in 2004. She is a judicial leader and mentor who has the
admiration and respect of her peers. She has been active in judicial
education and court administration. She has graciously served on various
and numerous professional and volunteer boards and committees at local,
provincial and national levels. Accolades for her services have
included: The Canada 125 Medal, 1992; the Frances Fish Award, a women
lawyers Achievement Award, 1997; The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award, 2002;
the International Honours Society Golden Key Award, 2003; numerous
honourary doctorate degrees from universities; Honourary member of the
Canadian Bar Association, 2004; the Order of Nova Scotia 2005 and the
Order of Canada 2006. Suggested sources: Protocol Office, Order of Nova Scotia
Recipients Http://www.gov.ns.ca/frot/2005recipients.htm (Accessed August
2008; Canadian Who’s Who . Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006 |
|
Jaunita Westmoreland-Traoré. Born March 10, 1942,
Verdun (now part of Montréal), Québec. She attended the Université to
obtain her law degree in 1966. She earned her PhD at the University of
Paris, France. In 1967 she was called to the Bar in Ontario and in 1969
called to the Bar in Québec. In the early 1970’s she became the 1st
Black woman to teach at the Université de Montréal and from 1976-1991
she taught at the Université du Québec à Montréal. From 1983-1985 she
was Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. In 1991 she
was appointed an officer of the National Order of Quebec. In 1999 she
became the 1st Black judge appointed in Québec. She became the 1st Black
Dean of a Canadian Law school when she served at the Faculty of Law,
University of Windsor, Ontario. In 2005 she was presented with the
Touchtone Award by the Canadian Bar Association. In 2008 she was awarded
the Quebec Human Rights Commission’s Rights and Liberties Prize for her
career long fight against discrimination and in 2009 she earned the
Christine Tourigny Merit Award. In 2013 a bursary was implemented with
her name by the Faculty of Political Science and Law, Université du
Québec, Montréal.
Sources : “Judge Westmorland-Traoré to be honoured.” The Gazette,
Montreal, November 2008. : Diversifying the Bar: Lawyers make history
Online (Accessed December 2013) : “Legal Icon –Westmoreland-Traoré
Retires” by Patricia DeGuire. Voices, Ontario Bar Association Vol. 18
no. 2 May 2012 |
|
Bertha Wilson.
née
Wernham. Born September 18, 1923 Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Died April 28,
2007, Ottawa, Ontario. She graduated with a Master of Arts from the
University of Aberdeen in 1944. In 1945 she married John Wilson, a
Presbyterian minister, who served as minister to the United Church in
Renfrew, Ontario. When John became a naval chaplain during the Korean
War she was working as a dental receptionist in Ottawa. In she settled
with John who had been posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1954 she
entered Dalhousie Law School, Halifax and was called to the nova Scotia
Bar in 1957. Relocating to Toronto, she was called to the Bar in Ontario
in 1959 and specialized in legal research and opinion writing for other
lawyers. She was the 1st
woman appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1975 where
she became known for her “imaginative and humane decisions”.
In 1982 she was the 1st woman
appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1988 she was
appointed a commissioner on the Reasmus-Dussault Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples. In 1991 she was elected a fellow of the Royal
Society of Canada and in 1992 she was named to the Order of Canada.
Sources: Bertha Wilson biography, Supreme Court of Canada
Accessed 2008; Obituary, the Globe and Mail April 30, 2007.
Accessed 2008 |
|
Marion Ironquil Meadmore.
Born 1936
Peepeekisis First Nation Reserve, Saskatchewan. Like many of her
generation she was forced to leave home and attend residential School.
In 1954 she married Ronald Hector Meadmore (1933-2013). She attended the
University of Manitoba and in
1977 she
became the 1st indigenous woman lawyer in Canada.
She is the founder of several aboriginal organizations including the
Canadian Indian Lawyer Association (Now Indigenous Bar Association),
National Indian Brotherhood, the Indian and Métis Friendship Center, the
Kinew Housing, and the National Indigenous Council of Elders (NICE). In
1985 She was inducted into the Order of Canada. Since 2011 she has been
actively involved on the National Council of Indigenous Elders for the
Creation of Wealth Forum. In 2010 she was honoured at the Keeping the
Fires Burning aboriginal awards celebrating female leaders for
preserving First Nations culture and serving as role models for younger
generations. In 2015 the University of Manitoba presented her with a
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Source:
Don Marks, “What is the Use in Spending so Much Time Studying
Failure’ CBC.ca May 14, 2015;
Matt Preprost, “Gala recognizes accomplishments”. Winnipeg Free
Press June 18, 2010 Page A13. |
|
1980's |
|
Helen R. Pierce.
Born
1953. Helen earned a B.A. degree in social work before she studied law.
She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1982.
She practiced in Sault Ste Marie from 1982 until 2001. In 2000 she was
appointed Regional Senior Judge of the Northwest Region. She was
appointed to the Supreme Court of Justice at Thunder Bay, Ontario in
2001 and may be the 1st Métis lawyer
to become a judge in Ontario.
She is active in continuing legal
education and in a variety of legal organizations, including the
Advocates’ Society, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of
Justice, The Ontario Association of Superior Court Judges and the
Canadian Superior Court Judges Association. She is also the Honorary
Colonel of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment.
Source:
Diversifying the bar: Lawyers Make history. Law Society of Upper
Canada Online |
|
Susan Ursel.
Born
1958. After undergraduate studies she attended Osgoode Law School, York
University, Toronto and was called to the Bar in Ontario
1986 Susan is the 1st openly Lesbian
lawyer in Ontario. She appeared as council for the
Metropolitan Community Church v. Egan which was the first Supreme Court
decision on equality rights for gay men and lesbians. She is the founder
of Pro Bono Law Ontario, an organization that encourages lawyers to
provide pro bono legal services (charge no fees) to low income persons.
In 1998 she received the Canadian Bar Association Young Lawyers Pro Bono
Award. She has served the Lesbian and Gay community and in 2000 they
recognized this service by inducting her into the Canadian Gay and
Lesbian Archives’ National Portrait Collection. In 2011 she won the
Canadian Bar Association HERO Award in recognition of her contribution
to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Committee.
Source:
Diversifying the bar; Law Society of Upper Canada online accessed
January 2013.: |
|
1990's |
|
Micheline Rawlins.
Born
1951, Montreal, Quebec. After graduating with a B.A. from McGill
University, Montreal, she studied law at the University of Windsor in
Ontario, graduating in 1978. She was called to the Bar in Ontario in
1982. Back in Windsor she served from 1985-1987 and again in 1995-2004
on the Board of Governors at the University of Windsor. She also
volunteered with the Windsor Media Council, the Boy Scouts and Girl
Guides and was president of the Windsor Urban Alliance, the Chatham
Youth Soccer Association and with Distinguished Women in International
Services. The Honorable Madam Justice Rawlins
was the 1st Black woman appointed the bench in Ontario in
1992. In 1997 she received
the African Canadian Achievement Award and in 2002 The National Congress
of Black Women Award for Outstanding Contribution to Women, to Law and
to Canada. In 2004 she was named Windsor Woman of the Year. She
considers her two sons as her greatest achievement.
Source:
Diversifying the bar; Law Society of Upper Canada online accessed
January 2013.: |
|
2000's |
|
Marie E. "Tracy" O'Donnell.
Born 1966
Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. She studied law and was called to the bar in
Ontario in 1995. Tracey is a member of the Red Rock Indian Band, located
southeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. She has focused her career on
providing legal services and support to First Nations, Aboriginal
organizations and Aboriginal peoples in several areas. She has
volunteered on several boards of directors for Aboriginal based
organizations.
In 2003 she was elected a
bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the 1st aboriginal woman
ever elected. She has two daughters and a son.
Source:
Diversifying the bar: Lawyers Make history. Law Society of Upper
Canada Online |
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