Overview

Bertha Wilson’s appointment as the first female justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1982 capped off a career of firsts. Wilson had been the first woman lawyer and partner at a prominent Toronto law firm and the first woman appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Her death in 2007 provoked reflection on her contributions to the Canadian legal landscape and raised the question, what difference do women judges make? Justice Bertha Wilson examines Wilson’s career through three distinct frames and a wide range of feminist perspectives. The authors evince Wilson’s contributions to the legal system in “Foundations,” examine her role in high-profile decisions in “Controversy,” and assess her credentials as a feminist judge and her impact on education and the profession in “Reflections.” This nuanced portrait of a complex, controversial woman will appeal to lawyers, judges, policy makers, academics, and anyone interested in law and women’s contributions to Canadian society.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kim Brooks
Publisher:   University of British Columbia Press
Imprint:   University of British Columbia Press
Weight:   0.620kg
ISBN:  

9780774817325

ISBN 10:   0774817321
Pages:   344
Publication Date:   15 November 2009
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Preface / Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé Introduction / Kim Brooks Part 1: Foundations 1 Bertha Wilson’s Practice Years (1958–75):  Establishing a Research Practice and Founding a Research Department in Canada / Angela Fernandez and Beatrice Tice 2 A Traditionalist’s Property Jurisprudence/ Larissa Katz 3 Power, Discretion, and Vulnerability, Justice Wilson and Fiduciary Duty in the Corporate/Commercial Context / Janis Sarra 4 A Few More Spokes to the Wheel: Reasonableness, Fairness, and Justice in Justice Bertha Wilson’s Approach to Contract Law / Moira L. McConnell 5 Giving Emotions Their Due: Justice Bertha Wilson’s Response to Intangible Loss in Contract / Shannon Kathleen O’Byrne Part 2: Controversy 6 Picking up Where Justice Wilson Left Off: The Tort of Discrimination Revisited / Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey 7 Paradigms of Prostitution: Revisiting the Prostitution Reference / Janine Benedet 8 Contextualizing Criminal Defences: Exploring the Contribution of Justice Bertha Wilson / Isabel Grant and Debra Parkes 9 “Finally I know Where I am Going to Be From”: Culture, Context, and Time in a Look Back at Racine v. Woods / Gillian Calder 10 Challenging Patriarchy or Embracing Liberal Norms?  Justice Wilson’s Child Custody and Access Decisions / Susan B. Boyd Part 3: Reflections 11 But Was She a Feminist Judge? / Beverley Baines 12 I Agree/Disagree for the Following Reasons: Convergence, Divergence, and Justice Wilson’s “Modest Degree of Creativity” / Marie-Claire Belleau, Rebecca Johnson, and Christina Vinters 13 A Way of Being in the World / Lorna Turnbull 14 Ideas and Transformation: A Reflection on Bertha Wilson’s Contribution to Gender Equality in the Legal Profession / Melina Buckley 15 Taking a Stand on Equality: Bertha Wilson and the Evolution of Judicial Education in Canada / Rosemary Cairns Way and T. Brettel Dawson 16 Bertha Wilson: “Silences” in a Woman’s Life Story / Mary Jane Mossman Index

Reviews

Was Bertha Wilson a feminist judge or not? This and other tantalizing questions are explored in this multifaceted collection devoted to the professional journey of an internationally famous 'FW2' (First Woman to...) in the often hostile, masculinist domain of law. The collection enables the reader to acquire an understanding of not only a courageous and compassionate trailblazer and her legacy, but also the organic nature of the nexus between law and social change. - Margaret Thornton, Professor of Law, Australian National University

Author Information

Kim Brooks is an associate professor and the H. Heward Stikeman Chair in the Law of Taxation in the Faculty of Law at McGill University. Contributors: Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey, Beverley Baines, Marie-Claire Belleau, Janine Benedet, Susan B. Boyd, Melina Buckley, Rosemary Cairns Way, Gillian Calder, T. Brettel Dawson, Angela Fernandez, Isabel Grant, Rebecca Johnson, Larissa Katz, Claire L’Heureux-Dubé, Moira L. McConnell, Mary Jane Mossman, Shannon O’Byrne, Debra Parkes, Janis Sarra, Beatrice Tice, Lorna Turnbull, and Christina Vinters

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