The University of Ottawa is thrilled by the news that the Prime Minister has nominated the Honourable Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada, making her the first Indigenous person to be proposed for appointment to the country’s highest court.
An accomplished jurist and a fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian, Justice O’Bonsawin has been a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice since 2017 and is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation.
Justice O’Bonsawin also has strong ties to the University of Ottawa, having earned an LL.B. in Common Law in 1998 from the University and a PhD in 2022.
Her PhD thesis was titled “A Principled Approach: The Mandatory Application of the Gladue Principles at Review Board Hearings”. The thesis was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Joao Velloso of the Common Law Section, and the jury unanimously recommended it for an award.
In 2019, Madam Justice O’Bonsawin was inducted into the University of Ottawa’s Common Law Honour Society. She has taught Indigenous law in the University’s Common Law Section, was a member of the University’s Board of Governors and a board member of the Aboriginal Legal Services for the University of Ottawa’s legal aid clinic.
The University congratulates Justice O’Bonsawin on this nomination.