News

On March 20, The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin spoke to a standing-room-only crowd in Weldon's Room 105 about her experience as a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada – and the first female and longest-serving Chief Justice of Canada – and her thoughts on the future issues of the courts. The talk was co-hosted by the Schulich School of Law, the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance, and Law Hour.

Here are some notable quotes from Chief Justice McLachlin's talk:

"To be a Chief Justice, you have to have a good grounding in Canadian law and good analytic and writing skills in the law. You have to be able to get along with eight other people – it's like being married to eight people! You have to try to be a specialist in many different areas of the law. You need a lot of stamina because there's a great deal of work to do."

"When I was appointed, I was quite euphoric for about three days. Then a friend told me not to get too excited because they hand you the reins of justice but it takes about three days to realize they're not connected to anything."

"When I was appointed, Bertha Wilson leaned over and whispered to me, 'Three down, six to go.' "

"I can't think of any impediments because I was a woman. Whatever I did wrong was just because I did it wrong."

"There are four women on the Supreme Court of Canada now. When it got to four, the whole subconscious gender thing lifted, and I felt very relieved."

"As for future issues for the courts, I don't have a crystal ball – I wish I did. Here are five areas where I feel there's more work to be done: Indigenous issues, environmental issues, technology issues, international issues, and diversity issues."