First Indigenous Supreme Court nominee Michelle O’Bonsawin to speak to committee
Posted August 24, 2022 4:00 am.
Last Updated August 24, 2022 4:03 am.
OTTAWA — Michelle O’Bonsawin, the judge poised to become the first Indigenous justice on the Supreme Court of Canada, will speak at a parliamentary committee meeting this afternoon.
Today’s meeting with MPs and senators will be O’Bonsawin’s first public appearance since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated her for the role last Friday.
Justice Minister David Lametti and the head of the independent advisory board for Supreme Court appointments will separately appear in front of the House of Commons justice committee this morning.
O’Bonsawin comes to the court after serving as a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa for the past five years.
She is a fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian and an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation.
The question-and-answer session will allow MPs and senators to learn more about O’Bonsawin, but unlike the process in the United States, a vote by elected officials is not required to cement her appointment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2022.
The Canadian Press
