As the tributes to the late Honourable Chief Justice Khullar pour in, I am in awe at the breadth of her impact in Alberta and beyond. So many have said much more eloquently than I ever could about her impact on the legal profession and on Canadian common law from her time on the Bench. I hope it brings her family and friends some comfort to know she was so deeply respected by so many.
In my role within the CBA's National Women Lawyers Forum (WLF), I had the privilege of experiencing firsthand her warmth and fierce determination on and off the bench. She was deeply determined to make the world, and our corner of it, a better place. Especially for women.
She gave generously of herself and her time. Her presence alone was inspiration to those of us new to the profession. She gave riveting speeches about the Rule of Law, the importance of lawyers in upholding democracy, and how much the Bench needs more women. Period. Full stop.
She was fiercely gentle with her call to each of us to be better than we ever thought we could be. I remember thinking that she could see me, like Actually see me. And also...see through me.
I did not experience a fluffy, cheerleader-y kind of motivation (although her laughter lifted any room), but rather a profound call to the activist in each of us to use our voices to make our communities and the world better. She was counting on us to make a difference. She was counting on ME to make a difference. I hope one day to live up to that call.
So, as we grieve her passing and move forward in our careers, WLF, let us look forward, with her voice in our ears and her piercing see-through-you look in our rear-view mirrors. Let us take her example of gentle fierceness into our neighbourhoods and beyond, with laughter that fills a room.
Shauna L. Gibbons is a lawyer in Edmonton, Alberta and Vice-chair of the National CBA Women Lawyers Forum
