| The Honourable Rosalie Silberman Abella |
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| Assumed office August 30, 2004 |
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| Nominated by | Paul Martin |
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| Preceded by | Frank Iacobucci/Louise Arbour |
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| Born | July 1, 1946 Stuttgart, Germany |
The Honourable Madam Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, FRSC (born July 1, 1946) is a Canadian jurist. She was appointed in 2004 to the Supreme Court of Canada[1], becoming the first Jewish woman to sit on the Canadian Supreme Court bench[citation needed].
Abella was born in a displaced persons camp in Stuttgart, Germany, and moved to Canada with her family in 1950. She graduated from the University of Toronto Law School in 1970, and practised civil and family law litigation until 1976, when she was appointed to the Ontario Family Court, becoming the youngest and first pregnant judge in Canadian history.[2] She was then appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1992.
Abella, who is considered one of Canada's foremost experts in human rights law, has also been a chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board and the Ontario Law Reform Commission, and a board member of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. She was also a member of the judicial inquiry on the Donald Marshall case. She chaired the Ontario Study into Access to Legal Services by the Disabled.
Abella was the sole commissioner of the 1984 federal Royal Commission on Equality in Employment, in which she coined the term employment equity, a strategy for reducing barriers in employment faced by women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
While also chair of the Law Reform Commission, she taught law at McGill University in Montreal.
Abella has also been active in Canadian cultural life. She has been a judge of the Giller Prize, and is a graduate of classical piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Rosalie Silberman Abella has also had the honour of moderating a televised leaders debate in 1988. The debate was between the leaders of the 3 main political parties, the Liberals (John Turner), the Conservatives (Brian Mulroney) and the NDP (Ed Broadbent).
She is married to Canadian historian Irving Abella and has two sons, lawyers Jacob and Zachary. She is the recipient of 27 honorary degrees and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
See also
References
External links
- Madam Justice Rosalie Abella
- http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/parties_leaders/clips/15773/
- Irving Abella, entry about Rosalie Abella, Jewish Women: A Comrehensive Historical Encyclopedia
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