Bertha Wernham Wilson (September 18, 1923April 28, 2007) was a Canadian jurist and the first female

puisne justice A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

of the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

. Before her ascension to Canada's highest court, she was the first female associate and

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is a Canadian-based law firm founded in 1862. Osler is considered one of the Seven Sisters (law firms), a historical collection of seven law firms with offices in Toronto, Ontario. History The firm was founded in ...

and the first woman appointed to the

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...

. During her time at Osler, she created the first in-firm research department in the Canadian legal industry.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, on September 18, 1923. She was the daughter of Archibald Wernham and Christina Noble. Wilson received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

in 1944. In 1949, Bertha Wilson emigrated to Canada with her husband, Reverend John Wilson, a Presbyterian minister, whom she had married in 1945. The couple settled in

Renfrew, Ontario Renfrew is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the fourth largest town in the county after Petawawa, Pembroke, Ontario, Pembroke and Arnprior. The town ...

, after John Wilson accepted a posting as a pastor. Three years later, in 1952, her husband became a naval chaplain during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and she worked as a dental receptionist in Ottawa. In 1954, her husband was posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia and they both moved.

Legal career

In 1955, Wilson was admitted to

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

to study law, and three years later she completed her

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree (LLB), and was called to the bar of Nova Scotia. Wilson applied for and was accepted into a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

program at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, but chose not to attend. Wilson moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and joined

in 1958, a year before she was called to the bar of Ontario, where she later became the firm's first female associate. In 1968, Wilson became Osler's first female partner. She founded the research department at Osler, which was the first of its kind in Canada, becoming a model for other research departments. Wilson was the first woman appointed to the

in 1975. In March, 1982, she became the first woman appointed to the

, nominated by

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

. Wilson retired from the court in January, 1991, and was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

, and in 1992, she was named Companion of the Order of Canada. Wilson's noteworthy Supreme Court rulings include ''

R v Morgentaler ''R v Morgentaler'', 9881 SCR 30 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which held that the abortion provision in the ''Criminal Code'' was unconstitutional because it violated women's rights under section 7 of the ''Canadian Charter of R ...

'' in 1988 (opinion striking down abortion law), '' R v Lavallée'' in 1990 (battered-wife syndrome as self-defence), '' Operation Dismantle v R'' in 1985 (judicial review), the minority decision in '' R v Stevens'' (1988) which was adopted later in '' R v Hess; R v Nguyen'' in 1990 (''mens rea'' and statutory rape), ''

Kosmopoulos v Constitution Insurance Co of Canada ''Kosmopoulos v Constitution Insurance Co of Canada'' is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the court's ability to pierce the corporate veil—to impose an interest or liability, that is, upon the shareholders of a company instead of the ...

'' (piercing the "corporate veil"), the dissenting opinion in '' McKinney v University of Guelph'' in 1990 (mandatory retirement), ''

Andrews v Law Society of British Columbia ''Andrews v Law Society of British Columbia'', 9891 SCR 143 is the first Supreme Court of Canada case to deal with section 15 (equality rights) of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''. The court outlined a test, sometimes called the "''A ...

'' in 1989 (equality rights test), and '' Sobeys Stores Ltd v Yeomans'' in 1989 (interpretative authority of tribunals) which are among the foundational cases interpreting the ''

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...

'' that was enacted in 1982, the year that she was appointed to the Supreme Court.

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

From 1991 to 1996, Wilson was a Commissioner of the

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was a Canadian royal commission established in 1991 with the aim of investigating the relationship between Indigenous peoples in Canada, the Government of Canada, and Canadian society as a whole. ...

(RCAP). She gave a controversial and much-discussed speech about the role and influence of women in legal professions and the judiciary, titled "Will Women Judges Really Make a Difference?"

Death

Wilson developed

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

later in life and died in an

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

retirement home on April 28, 2007, at the age of 83.Globe & Mail obituary, April 30th, 2007
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References

External links