Bertha Wilson's appointment as the first female justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1982 capped off a career of firsts. Wilson had been the first woman lawyer and partner at a prominent Toronto law firm and the first woman appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Her death in 2007 provoked reflection on her contributions to the Canadian legal landscape and raised the question, what difference do women judges make?

Justice Bertha Wilson examines Wilson's career through three distinct frames and a wide range of feminist perspectives. The authors evince Wilson's contributions to the legal system in "Foundations," examine her role in high-profile decisions in "Controversy," and assess her credentials as a feminist judge and her impact on education and the profession in "Reflections."

This nuanced portrait of a complex, controversial woman will appeal to lawyers, judges, policy makers, academics, and anyone interested in law and women's contributions to Canadian society.

A timely, evocative exploration of Bertha Wilson's life and career.

About the Author

Kim Brooks is an associate professor and the H. Heward Stikeman Chair in the Law of Taxation in the Faculty of Law at McGill University.

Contributors: Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey, Beverley Baines, Marie-Claire Belleau, Janine Benedet, Susan B. Boyd, Melina Buckley, Rosemary Cairns Way, Gillian Calder, T. Brettel Dawson, Angela Fernandez, Isabel Grant, Rebecca Johnson, Larissa Katz, Claire L'Heureux-Dube, Moira L. McConnell, Mary Jane Mossman, Shannon O'Byrne, Debra Parkes, Janis Sarra, Beatrice Tice, Lorna Turnbull, and Christina Vinters

Reviews

The book is an excellent legacy of Madame Justice Bertha Wilson's life as a lawyer, jurist, role model, and task force chair. Hers was a life that made a difference.

-- Joan Brockman * Canadian Journal of Woman and the Law, Vol 22 *
Justice Bertha Wilson is an original contribution ... this collection of essays reminds us that all women constitute themselves within conditions of overt and more ambient gender discrimination. Through the lens of one "extraordinary" woman's life, this collection contributes to feminist attempts to develop theories that account for women's capacity for agency, their negotiations, concessions, and transgressions of normative femininity - in short, the relative and shifting constraints and opportunities generated through our interactions with gendered social structures. -- Suzanne Bouclin, Faculty of Law, McGill University * Canadian Journal of Law and Society, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2010 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780774817332
Author Kim Brooks
Format Paperback
Page Count 344
Imprint University of British Columbia Press
Publisher University of British Columbia Press
Weight(grams) 520g