WHAT WAS YOUR PATH INTO LAW AND ONTO THE BENCH?

I knew I wanted to be a judge from when I was about 11 years old. I distinctly remember seeing a TV documentary about The Honourable Bertha Wilson, the first female puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. It was 1982 and in the same year Justice Wilson was appointed to Canada’s highest court, Parliament had enacted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Being treated equally and fairly were already very important concepts to me. You see, I was born in a primarily French speaking town called Buckingham, Quebec. My mother was from Maniwaki, Québec, she spoke English and French and was First Nation and European decent.¹ My father was an immigrant from China who spoke Cantonese and Mandarin, he could speak some English and very little French. My mother had been married before she met my father and had my older sisters and brothers before falling in love with my father. This was fortuitous for me, as my brother George came along and then me. It was a great love story for a few years, but it didn’t last. My mother and father never married. When they separated, given the laws at the time, my mother was left with nothing. I was just 2 years old when we left Buckingham for Gatineau (near Ottawa). We moved around Québec quite a bit, we lived on my maternal grandparent’s land near Otter Lake, we lived in Pointe Gatineau, and in Hull, eventually we moved to Calgary, Alberta, this move happened soon after the appointment of Justice Wilson and the repatriation of the Constitution in 1982. My mother raised me and my older siblings pretty much all by herself (with some help from my grandparents of course, and my aunties and uncles). If you can imagine the hardships my mother and family faced. The prejudice, discrimination, and racism. It was all there at a very young age for me. My personal life experience is why I chose law. However, before I could become a judge, I had to become a lawyer. So, I finished high school, applied to university, took the LSAT, applied to law school, applied for articles, articled, worked as a lawyer for 20 years, applied to the bench and voila. As I write this, I think wow, I am making it sound so easy, but it wasn’t. Not even close. There were many times throughout my education and my career in law that I thought I would never make it. Many times, where I thought it was impossible. However, this is where family, friends, teachers, coaches, teammates, mentors, elders all come in. Without the love and support of the community of people who have surrounded me with their belief in me, this would never have happened. I am so very grateful to my village of people who have been with me through thick and thin. It was their collective energy that gave me the courage to put my name in. Thank you! As my mom would say: “I love you, all equally the same”.

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

The experience of being a civil litigator and resolving disputes for 20 years best prepared me for my work on the bench. I consider the time I spent helping clients resolve disputes in the most cost effective and time efficient way possible as my most significant contribution to the law and the pursuit of justice in Canada. Although I practiced civil litigation for the majority of my career, I resolved disputes through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and judicial dispute resolution, with trial as the last resort.

Gaining an understanding of what the client wants most, which is a resolution to the issue, that was important in my learning. Clients do not want to be spending money and time on making precedent. They want results. This experience informed me in the work I do now because I appreciate whole heartedly that the parties who appear before me just want a decision and they want it now.

While in practice I advocated for alternative dispute resolution (ADR). I Chaired both the National and Alberta Canadian Bar Association, ADR Sections. The excellent work of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), ADR Section and other Sections, and the involvement I had with the CBA also greatly assisted me in my development as a lawyer and helped prepare me for the work I do now on the bench.

Volunteering and being an active member in the legal community was critical to my learning and helped prepare me for the bench, this included my work as a volunteer for: Calgary Legal Guidance, Law Society of Alberta, the Association of Women Lawyers, and the Canadian Bar Association.

While I was in legal practice, every day, I felt privileged to assist my clients in accessing justice. I remain grateful and privileged to have had the opportunity to help so many resolve their disputes. Ensuring that every client understands what their rights are, what their options are and what their risks are; helping them take control over the situation, anticipating what could be the outcome, so that eyes are wide open in the process, was both challenging and rewarding. The work I did with clients, building their trust and helping them to resolve their disputes probably best prepared me for the work I do now because I can appreciate when parties are before me now, just how far they have come to get into the Court House.

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

Remember the oath you took as a barrister and solicitor. That oath should be your guide: to conduct yourself to the best of your ability, faithfully, honestly and with integrity. Always follow the “Golden Rule” of treating others how you want to be treated yourself. The most important qualities to have to be an excellent practitioner include:

1. Listen first;
2. Know your case; understand the strengths and weaknesses of your case;
3. Don’t over state your position;
4. Be kind and courteous to all, even when you do not agree; and
5. Have courage.

WHAT DO YOU WISH THE PUBLIC KNEW ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM?

I wish the public knew that as a result of the “chronic shortage of judges across Canada” including in the King’s Bench of Alberta where I preside, means that we are working very hard to prepare for the matters that come before us (on evenings and weekends, before and after court hours). The justices have no control over who gets appointed or when, but without doubt we need more lawyers to submit applications to become judges and to be appointed. Encouraging lawyers who meet the qualifications to become a judge to apply for the bench is important as quite frankly we need more judges. The position of a judge is not as isolating as you may think. Yes, you are alone in making your decisions, you are exercising your judicial independence, but if you need help, there is help available. Also, all of the members of the judiciary and staff are very collegial and welcoming. We are also in my opinion all friendly and supportive.

 If you are a lawyer, and you meet the qualifications, put your name in! Also, for those of you who may not be lawyers yet or don’t yet meet the qualifications but want to one day be a judge, believe in yourself, you can do it too! Who would have thought that an underprivileged girl of First Nation (Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg First Nation) and Chinese descent, who came from a broken home, who lived in poverty, who is the only one in her family to have attended university, who was born in Québec and moved across Canada to live the majority of her life in Calgary would have succeeded in achieving her career dream of one day becoming a judge. 

Meegwetch, Xièxie, Merci, Thank you.