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Article

Roberta Jamieson

Roberta Louise Jamieson, OC, Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) lawyer, ombudsman, Six Nations chief, policy advisor, senior mediator, businesswoman (born in 1953 at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory near Brantford, ON). Jamieson was the first Indigenous woman in Canada to earn a law degree (1976); first non-Parliamentarian appointed to a House of Commons committee (1982); first woman appointed ombudsman in Ontario (1989); and first woman elected as Six Nations chief (2001).

Article

Mahmud Jamal

Mahmud Jamal, Supreme Court of Canada justice, Court of Appeal for Ontario judge, litigation lawyer, author, teacher (born 1967 in Nairobi, Kenya). Mahmud Jamal is the first racialized person and the first South Asian Canadian to be appointed as a justice to the Supreme Court of Canada. A former Fulbright scholar with a background in law and economics, Jamal worked as a litigator with the Toronto firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP before becoming a judge with the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He began serving on the Supreme Court on 1 July 2021.

Editorial

Clara Brett Martin: Hero or Villain?

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.

"This application to the Law Society of Upper Canada is refused. The governing statute regulating this body, not having been drafted under the advanced views of the day and specifically referring to the admission of persons, does not permit the interpretation of 'persons' to include women. This was the spirit of the reply to Clara Brett Martin's application to study law in 1891.

Article

Lincoln Alexander

Lincoln MacCauley Alexander, CC, OOnt, QC, lieutenant-governor of Ontario 1985–91, member of Parliament 1968–80, lawyer, public servant (born 21 January 1922 in Toronto, ON; died 19 October 2012 in Hamilton, ON). Alexander was the first Black Canadian member of Parliament (1968), Cabinet minister (1979) and lieutenant-governor (Ontario, 1985). In recognition of his many important accomplishments, 21 January has been celebrated as Lincoln Alexander Day across Canada since 2015.

Article

Mary John Batten

Mary John Batten (née Fodchuk), lawyer, politician, justice and chief justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench (born 30 August 1921 in Sifton, MB; died 9 October 2015). Mary John Batten was the first Ukrainian Canadian woman elected to a Canadian legislature. She served as an MLA in Saskatchewan from 1956 until 1964. That year, she became the first woman to be appointed as a federal judge in Saskatchewan, and only the second in Canada. In 1983, she became Saskatchewan’s first female chief justice. She also chaired a Saskatchewan royal commission. She retired from the bench in 1989.

Article

Alexander Kennedy Isbister

Alexander Kennedy Isbister, Métis schoolmaster, explorer, lawyer (born June 1822 in Cumberland House, Rupert's Land, [now in SK]; died 28 May 1883 in London, England). Isbister explored the Mackenzie River basin in northwestern Canada (from 1838 to 1842) while employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. However, he is best known as a champion of Métis rights and as a distinguished educator and author.

Article

John Sopinka

John Sopinka, Supreme Court justice, lawyer, social advocate, author, football player, violinist (born 19 March 1933 in Broderick, SK; died 24 November 1997 in Ottawa, ON). John Sopinka played in the Canadian Football League while studying law at the University of Toronto. As a prominent litigation attorney, he represented Ukrainian Canadians in national and international commissions and handled other influential cases. In 1988, he became the first Ukrainian Canadian appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Article

Laurence Decore

Laurence George Decore (born Lavrentiy Dikur), CM, lawyer, entrepreneur, community activist, alderman and mayor of Edmonton, Alberta MLA, leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta’s opposition leader (born 18 June 1940 in Vegreville, AB; died 6 November 1999 in Edmonton, AB). Laurence Decore was a Ukrainian Canadian community activist and politician. He served as an Edmonton alderman (1974–77) and mayor (1983–88) and chaired the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism. In this role, he led the drafting of section 27 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It entrenched multiculturalism in Canada’s Constitution. Decore also served as an Alberta MLA (1989–97). He led the Alberta Liberal Party (1988–94) and was leader of the Opposition (1993–94).