Justice Bertha Wilson: One Woman’s Difference (Law and Society) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0774817321 ISBN 13: 9780774817325

Publisher: UBC Press, 2009

Synopsis

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.

About this title

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-Dubé, Moira L. McConnell, Mary Jane Mossman, Shannon O’Byrne, Debra Parkes, Janis Sarra, Beatrice Tice, Lorna Turnbull, and Christina Vinters

From the Back Cover

Justice Bertha Wilson's career is examined through three distinct frames - foundations, controversy, and reflections - and a wide range of feminist perspectives. Taken together, these provocative essays paint a nuanced portrait of a complex, controversial woman who made a deep impression on the Canadian legal landscape.

From the Inside Flap

Justice Bertha Wilson's career is examined through three distinct frames - foundations, controversy, and reflections - and a wide range of feminist perspectives. Taken together, these provocative essays paint a nuanced portrait of a complex, controversial woman who made a deep impression on the Canadian legal landscape.

Edition details

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0774817321
• ISBN 13: 9780774817325
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 344
• Editor: Brooks Kim