Notes for an Address by
The Honourable Anne McLellan
Minister of Justice
and
Attorney General of Canada

At the ceremonies marking
the opening of the courts

Hull, Quebec
September 9, 1998

Madame Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec, Madame Chief Judge of the Court of Quebec, madame le bâtonnier de Paris, messieurs les bâtonniers du Québec et de Hull, distinguished guests, members of the judiciary, dear colleagues. I am honoured to speak to you on the occasion of the opening of the sitting of the courts in Hull.

Every year, the opening of the courts offers us an opportunity to reaffirm and reflect upon the importance of the courts of law in the life of our country. This ancient tradition allows us to renew our commitment to reinforcing the Canadian justice system - a system characterized by its bijural nature, making us virtually unique in the world.

I am especially pleased to be with you today because of the presence of a number of women who not only occupy key positions in the justice system, but who also represent important "firsts" for that system. As monsieur le bâtonnier de Hull pointed out, we are pleased to have with us the first female bâtonnier de Paris, the first female Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec, the first female Chief Judge of the Court of Quebec and, finally, the first woman to be named coordinating judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Hull. Mesdames, I welcome you all and I think it appropriate this morning to reflect upon the changing face of our justice system.

All of us have no doubt shared experiences of being "first" throughout our careers. I remember being one of only a few female graduates at Dalhousie Law School in the early 1970's. Later, I was one of only a few female professors of law. This situation has changed dramatically, and when I stopped teaching to enter politics in 1993, female students easily made up half of my classes.

So change is happening. However, I remember the first day I walked into the Justice Building following my appointment as Minister of Justice last year. As I stepped out of the elevator, I saw row upon row of pictures of former justice ministers -- all of them men with one single exception. It was a striking reminder that, despite the progress we've made, we have a lot of work ahead of us to foster the participation and the development of women in the legal profession and elsewhere. While my comments this morning will focus on the challenges of achieving gender equality, we must be ever mindful that if our justice system hopes to maintain the confidence of the public, it must be one that reflects the real diversity of our society in all its institutions and operations.

Visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples and the disabled, as well as women, must see themselves fully represented in our practising profession and in our courts. In addition, they must know that their experiences, their challenges and the reality of their lives will be reflected in the substance of our law, be it in legislation or in the judgments rendered by our courts.

The challenge faced by women lawyers and judges is daunting. The Honourable Justice Bertha Wilson - the first woman  appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada - in her now famous speech at Osgoode Hall in 1990, was asked the question "will women judges really make a difference". Madame Justice Wilson answered her question in the following terms:

"if women lawyers and women judges through their differing perspectives on life can bring a new humanity to bear on the decision-making process, perhaps they will make a difference. Perhaps they will succeed in infusing the law with an understanding of what it means to be fully human."

But in order to allow women to make that a contribution and to make a difference, we must have equal access to our profession and accommodate our needs. Madame Justice Wilson chaired, a committee in 1993, which was mandated by the Canadian Bar Association. This was a committee studying gender equality in the profession to write a report on the equality of the sexes in the legal profession. The report highlighted the scope of the problems with which women are confronted in the legal profession. Madame Justice Wilson wrote:

"in a country where gender equality is entrenched as a primary constitutional value, and in a self-governing profession knowledgeable about law and concerned with justice, women continue to be discriminated against in numerous overt and covert ways".

Madame Justice Wilson's report issued a challenge to all of us concerned about justice and equality. I am pleased to see that, today, we see this challenge being met by the profession, by the courts and by my own department.

The Department of Justice has an important role to play in ensuring greater gender equality.. The appointment of members of the judiciary is one of the most important duties that I perform. We must ensure the fair representation of women on our courts. To rectify the problem of under-representation of women in the judiciary, as Minister of Justice I always ask myself this question: is there a woman qualified for the position? When Madame Justice Wilson delivered her speech in 1990, nine percent (9%) of all judges on the bench were women. In 1993, the number was eleven percent (11%). Today, twenty percent (20%) are women.

We have made a lot of progress since 1990; however, we are aware that we still have a long way to go. Five years ago, only nineteen percent (19%) of all federal judicial appointments were female; today, over thirty-three percent (33%) are women.

As an institution, the Department of Justice also has a duty to take steps to ensure that its internal policies and practices guarantee equality of opportunity to its women lawyers. We work hard to identify structural and systemic barriers to the full and equal participation of women lawyers and then develop policies and practices to eliminate them. The Department tries to rectify situations where our female lawyers are at a disadvantage. Let me simply say, and I repeat, that equality of opportunity is a goal to which we are committed and which we strive to achieve in our day-to-day activities.

Since Madame Justice Wilson delivered her speech in 1990, we have witnessed many improvements. I would like to think that a comic strip, published some years ago, in which a three-year-old girl told her mother that she did not want to be a lady when she grew up, but rather a lawyer, is now anachronistic.

I believe the issue is no longer whether women in the profession will make a difference. We know we make a difference. Women have helped change what law schools teach and how they teach it; we have helped bring about law reform that is more reflective of modern values and more in tune with the realities of women's lives; we are seeing greater gender sensitivity in the judgments of our courts.

Our institutions of justice must be models of inclusion. The presence here today of these women who represent so many "firsts" is evidence of the profound change that has taken place within our society and our institutions of justice. As we celebrate the opening of the courts this morning, we must all be mindful of our obligation to build on the progress that has been made.

Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for this opportunity to speak to you, and I extend to you my best wishes for the success of your celebrations and for your professional success in the coming year.