WHAT WAS YOUR PATH INTO LAW AND ONTO THE BENCH?

I was raised in a family that was very involved in our own Indigenous legal tradition. Those teachings were part of how I was raised from a very young age.  There is an interesting juxtaposition between the Nlaka’pamux legal tradition I was raised in, and the one that I trained in and work within now:   my own Indigenous tradition is one that is taught and practiced from a very young age.  It is part of everyday life and how we determine our relationships with each other and the living world.  Justice is not specialized, it is shared, in the tradition that I grew up in. Largely, the Canadian legal tradition that I work within now comes into operation when people or organizations come into conflict with each other.

WHAT EXPERIENCE IN YOUR LEGAL CAREER BEST PREPARED YOU FOR WORK ON THE BENCH? 

My training and experience in different alternative dispute mediation, social justice mediation, and Indigenous dispute resolution systems.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR COUNSEL WHO APPEAR BEFORE YOU? 

I remember the talk that was given when I was first called to the bar focussed on the need to treat our colleagues with respect, and to not to allow the fact that we work within an adversarial system to allow us to treat our colleagues in that way.  That message I think is so important and it carries through to how counsel treat each other in court.  The most effective counsel I have seen are the ones who show respect and collegiality to their colleagues.