Mary John Batten (née Fodchuk; August 30, 1921 – October 9, 2015) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and political figure in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. She represented Humboldt from 1956 to 1964 in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, in the na ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

. She was the first woman of

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

origin to be elected to a Canadian provincial parliament. She was born Mary John Fodchuk in 1921 in

Sifton, Manitoba Sifton is an unincorporated community located in the Rural Municipality of Dauphin in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The community is approximately 20 km north of Dauphin in the Parkland area. History Large influxes of Ukrainians s ...

and educated in

Calder, Saskatchewan Calder ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Calder No. 241 and Census Division No. 9. The village lies approximately 56 km east of the City of Yorkton and 35 km ...

Ituna Ituna () is a town in Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2006, it had a population of 622. It is north-east of the capital Regina. The town contains several businesses serving the local residents and rural community, including financial services, groc ...

and Regina and at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. She articled with

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

and was called to the Saskatchewan bar in 1945, later moving to Humboldt. She married M. Charles R. Batten, also a lawyer. After leaving politics in 1964, she was named to the Saskatchewan District Court. In 1983, she was named Chief Justice for the Court of Queen's Bench, becoming the first female chief justice for Saskatchewan. Batten retired from the bench in 1990. Batten died in October 2015 at the age of 94.http://docs.legassembly.sk.ca/legdocs/Legislative%20Assembly/Hansard/27L4S/151123Debates.pdf

References

1921 births 2015 deaths Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs Judges in Saskatchewan Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Women MLAs in Saskatchewan {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub