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Search Results for: Abella

Your all-access pass to the people and events shaping Canada’s democracy

01:57:09

Public Record

September 25, 2026

Rosalie Silberman Abella Delivers 2026 Symons Lecture

Rosalie Silberman Abella, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, receives the 2026 Symons Medal for exceptional contribution to Canadian life. During the event, Abella delivers remarks and participates in a discussion on confederation alongside Canada’s former UN ambassador Bob Rae and veteran journalist Steve Paikin. This year’s presentation marks the first convening of the Palmer Institute for Canadian Leadership at Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre of the Arts. (no interpretation)
00:29:50

Public Record

November 21, 2025

HISF 2025: In Conversation with Justice Rosalie Abella

Justice Rosalie Abella sits down with Robert Fife (Globe and Mail) to discuss her life, career and influence on law and society. Their discussion takes place at the Halifax International Security Forum, the annual gathering of security and foreign policy experts, global political leaders, and defence officials. (November 21, 2025)
01:27:30

Public Record

September 16, 2024

Annual Irving Abella Lecture with Adam Gopnik on 'Confronting Hate'

Massey College hosts the second annual Irving Abella lecture with author and writer for The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik, on 'confronting hate'. Former U.S. ambassador Bruce Heyman and former Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson deliver remarks before the lecture. (September 16, 2024)
01:14:29

Public Record

April 8, 2024

The Threat to Civility and the Fight for Liberal Democracy

The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada hosts the inaugural event of the series "Conversations: sponsored by Charles Bronfman" in Montreal. Award-winning foreign correspondent Nahlah Ayed moderates a conversation on the threat to civility and the fight for liberal democracy. Panelists include Rosalie Silberman Abella (retired Supreme Court of Canada justice), Luís Roberto Barroso (president of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court), and Vikas Swarup (former high commissioner of India to Canada, and author of "Slumdog Millionaire"). (April 8, 2024)
01:14:00

Public Record

June 13, 2022

Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella: A Life of Firsts - Constitutional Law

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event, organized by the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ), celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. In this session, Adam Dodek (professor, faculty of Law, University of Ottawa), Howie Kislowicz (associate professor, faculty of law, University of Calgary), Jamie Cameron (professor emerita, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University), Carissima Mathen (professor, faculty of law, University of Ottawa), Han-Ru Zhou (associate professor, faculty of law, Université de Montréal), Alexander Pless (Superior Court of Quebec justice), and Aimée Craft (associate professor and research chair, Nibi miinawaa aki inaakonigewin: Indigenous Governance in Relationship with Land and Water at the University of Ottawa) discuss Justice Abella's contributions to constitutional law. (May 13, 2022)
01:23:20

Public Record

June 12, 2022

Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella: A Life of Firsts - International Impact

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. In this opening session, Albie Sachs (founding justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa), Harold Hongju Koh (Sterling professor of international law at Yale Law School), Luís Roberto Barroso (justice of the Supreme Court of Brazil), and Dorit Beinisch (ninth president of the Supreme Court of Israel) discuss Justice Abella's international impact. (May 12, 2022)
00:58:00

Public Record

May 13, 2022

Retired Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella Reflects on Her Life and Career

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event, organized by the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ), celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. Justice Abella joins journalist Paul Wells for a conversation about her life and career. (May 13, 2022)
01:28:30

Public Record

May 13, 2022

Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella: A Life of Firsts - The Future of Law in Canada

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event, organized by the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ), celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. In this final session, Geral Chan (partner, Stockwoods), Andrew Bernstein (partner, Torys), Karen Eltis (professor, faculty of law, University of Ottawa), Michael H. Morris (senior general counsel, national litigation sector, Justice Canada), Rosemary Cairns-Way (professor, faculty of law, University of Ottawa), and Sara Ghebremusse (assistant professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia) discuss how Justice Abella's jurisprudence will continue to shape Canadian law into the future. (May 13, 2022)
01:18:15

Public Record

May 13, 2022

Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella: A Life of Firsts - Administrative Law

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event, organized by the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ), celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. In this session, Julie Baril (director of legal office, Tribunal administratif du Quebec), Geneviève Cartier (professor, faculty of Law, Université de Sherbrooke), Lorne Sossin (Ontario Court of Appeal justice), Joëlle Pastora Sala (lawyer, Public Interest Law Centre), and Paul Daly (research chair in administrative law and governance, University of Ottawa) discuss Justice Abella's contributions to administrative law. (May 13, 2022)
01:20:00

Public Record

May 12, 2022

Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella: A Life of Firsts - Women in Law

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. Andromache Karakatsanis (Supreme Court justice), Sana Halwani (partner, Lenczner Slaght), Freda Steel (Manitoba Court of Appeal justice), Rosalie Jukier (full professor and associate dean, academic, in the faculty of law at McGill University), Linda Rothstein (partner, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein), and Shantona Chaudhury (partner, Pape Chaudhury) examine Justice Abella's trailblazing career. They speak about her impact on women in the legal profession, discuss the challenges and barriers faced by women in the field, and share their own stories and experiences. (May 12, 2022)
01:29:44

Public Record

May 12, 2022

Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella: A Life of Firsts - Early Career

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. In this session, participants discuss Justice Abella's career contributions before she became a justice of the Supreme Court. Eric Adams (vice-dean and professor, faculty of law, University of Alberta), Vanessa Gruben (associate professor, faculty of law, University of Ottawa), David Lepofsky (visiting professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University), David Baker (senior partner, Bakerlaw), Michael Stein (co-founder and executive director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability) and Adelle Blackett (full professor and Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law and Development, McGill University) speak about Justice Abella's early career, including her legacy as a family court judge, her work in championing the rights of persons with disabilities, and her role in advancing employment equity. (May 12, 2022)
01:15:00

Public Record

May 12, 2022

Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella: A Life of Firsts - Non-Legal Influences

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. This session explores some of the non-legal influences on Justice Abella's life and career. Mary Liston (associate professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia), Adrian Fung (executive and artistic director, Music in the Morning) and Charles Pachter (artist) discuss the justice’s love of literature, music and art. Bernie Farber (human rights consultant) discusses the impact of Judaisim, while Jamie Liew (associate professor and director of the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa) examines the impact of immigration. (May 12, 2022)
00:28:15

Public Record

May 12, 2022

Irwin Cotler Delivers Keynote Address on Justice Rosalie Abella's Legacy

Participants gather in person and virutally to mark the retirement of Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella from the Supreme Court of Canada. This event celebrates Justice Abella's life, career, and her influence on law and society. She retired from Canada's highest court on July 1, 2021. Irwin Cotler (founder and international chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights) reflects on the life and legacy of Justice Abella. Cotler served as MP for Mount Royal (QC) from 1999 to 2015, and was justice minister and attorney general of Canada when Abella was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court in 2004. (May 12, 2022)
01:09:22

CPAC Special

October 28, 2021

Official Welcoming Ceremony for New Supreme Court Justice Mahmud Jamal

The Supreme Court of Canada hosts an official welcome ceremony for its newest member, Justice Mahmud Jamal. His appointment fills the vacancy left by Justice Rosalie Abella, who retired on July 1, 2021. On that date, Justice Jamal was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court in a private ceremony. He is the first person of colour to be nominated to Canada’s highest court. Justice Jamal, Chief Justice Richard Wagner, and federal Justice Minister David Lametti are among those making remarks at the ceremony. (October 28, 2021)
01:33:10

In Committee from the House of Commons

June 22, 2021

Former PM Kim Campbell, Justice Minister Lametti on Mahmud Jamal SCC Nomination

Justice and Human Rights: June 22, 2021: Former prime minister Kim Campbell and Justice Minister David Lametti speak about the nomination process for Mahmud Jamal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Justice Jamal is the first person of colour to be nominated to Canada's top court, and he replaces the longest-serving Supreme Court Justice, Rosalie Abella.
02:05:14

Headline Politics

MPs and Senators Question Supreme Court Nominee – June 22, 2021

In a virtual meeting, members of the House of Commons justice committee and the Senate legal affairs committee question Supreme Court of Canada nominee Mahmud Jamal. The session is moderated by Marie-Eve Sylvestre, Dean of the Civil Law section at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. Justice Jamal will fill the vacancy left by the upcoming retirement of Justice Rosalie Abella. He is the first person of colour to be nominated to Canada's highest court.
04:07:00

Supreme Court Hearings

May 21, 2021

York University, et al. v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency

Are interim tariffs mandatory, and did the courts err by failing to apply the fairness factors from the student’s perspective considering the educational purpose of the dealings? Justice Rosalie Abella bids farewell to the Supreme Court. (May 21, 2021) (Case no. 39222)
01:24:18

CPAC Special

February 5, 2018

Official Ceremony For New Chief Justice

A ceremony to mark the appointment of Chief Justice Richard Wagner takes place at the Supreme Court of Canada. The ceremony features remarks from Chief Justice Wagner, Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella, federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, Quebec Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée, Canadian Bar Association president Kerry Simmons, Barreau du Québec president Paul-Matthieu Grondin, and Federation of Law Societies of Canada president Sheila MacPherson. (February 5, 2018)
00:17:28

CPAC Special

December 7, 2017

Beverley McLachlin Bids Farewell to Supreme Court

Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin speaks in the Supreme Court of Canada on December 7, 2017, after hearing her final case before retirement. Former Supreme Court executive legal officer Owen Rees and Justice Rosalie Abella also pay tribute to the chief justice, who will step down on December 15.
00:33:05

CPAC Documentaries

November 13, 2016

Interview with Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella

Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella discusses the court’s role in a functioning democracy, the importance of judicial independence, and her personal and professional journey to the bench.