Canada’s Supreme Court is a “colonial institution” that should be activated to bring back certain practices from the Indigenous legal system, said Attorney General David Rameti.
speak before a House judge Committee On August 24, Rametti said indigenous peoples should see their culture represented in institutions such as the Supreme Court.
“That indigenous peoples can, frankly, see themselves in colonial institutions and see their participation as a way to make those institutions better, and see this as a way to make Canadian law better. is very important.” Rametti As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
Rametti made his comments while explaining that Prime Minister Michelle Obonsawin, a member of the Abenaki First Nations from Hammer, Ontario, has been nominated to the Supreme Court.
Mr. O’Bonsawin served five years in the Ontario Superior Court in Ottawa and, prior to that, was General Counsel for Royal Ottawa Health Group. In her new role, she fills the vacancy left by Judge Michael Moldover when he retires in early September.
Rametti said the government had “made progress on diversity” in recent Supreme Court appointments.
“In the last few months, I have taken two people to the Court of Appeal of Indigenous background,” Rametti said. “justice [Leonard] Marchand of British Columbia and Jonathon George of Ontario.
Rametti said appointing judges with Indigenous backgrounds would bring Canada closer to having a “truly pluralistic legal system.”
“It will help revitalize indigenous law itself and the indigenous legal system,” he said. “This adds legitimacy to these revitalization projects, which are so important in moving forward to make Canada a truly pluralistic legal system.”
In 2021, Rametti said he supported the adoption of indigenous legislation “on indigenous territories,” and his Department of Justice also announced in Kamloops, British Columbia, to “enforce the Secwepemc Act in the Shuswap Nation.” approved a grant worth $500,000 to
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Peter Wilson is a reporter based in Ontario, Canada.