Her thesis is titled “A Principled Approach: The Mandatory Application of the Gladue Principles at Review Board Hearings”. The thesis was conducted under the supervision of our colleague from the Common Law Section, Dr. Joao Velloso, and the jury unanimously recommended it for an award.

Madam Justice O’Bonsawin is an Abenaki of Odanak, and the first Indigenous judge named to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa. She is originally from Hanmer in the Sudbury region, perfectly bilingual and actively learning her Abenaki language.

In 2019, Madam Justice O’Bonsawin was inducted into the University of Ottawa’s Common Law Honour Society.

Congratulations Dr. O’Bonsawin!