Each year, Times Higher Education recognizes top schools by subject. In 2023, it was announced that Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law had advanced into the Top 100 Law Schools in the World. Dalhousie’s high ranking, both in international and Canadian higher education publications, is reflective of the strong reputation and high standards that continue to be upheld across the faculty.
Established in 1833 as Dalhousie Law School, the Schulich School of Law holds the distinction of being the oldest common law school in Canada. Renowned for its exceptional academic standards, it comes as no surprise that over its extensive 190-year history, Dalhousie’s Law school has nurtured a remarkable cohort of alumni. These distinguished individuals have made significant contributions in shaping the institution and bolstering its esteemed standing in the present day.
One Alumni in particular, Bertha Wilson, has served as an inspiration not only for young women at Dalhousie and those who aspire to careers in the legal field, but also to women at large within the justice system. In 1955, Bertha Wilson was accepted into Dalhousie Law School, where after three years of study she received her Bachelor of Laws (LLB). After being called to the Nova Scotia Bar, Wilson moved to Toronto with her husband, where she joined Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP – which remains a leading business law firm with offices across Canada and in New York today. Wilson soon became the firm’s first female associate, and Osler became the first large corporate law firm to admit a woman as a partner, when Wilson was promoted in 1968. During her time at Osler, Wilson founded their highly specialized Research Group, which remains a unique legal resource to this day, and has helped to distinguish Osler from other firms.
In 1975, Wilson achieved a significant milestone by becoming the inaugural woman to be designated to the Court of Appeal in Ontario. However, her trailblazing journey did not culminate there. In 1982, Bertha Wilson, nominated by former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, etched her name in history and indelibly altered the trajectory of the Canadian legal landscape as she assumed the esteemed position of the first female Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Wilson’s tenure on the Supreme Court was marked by her active involvement in numerous landmark decisions, many of which brought about transformative changes in the lives of women across Canada. Presented below are concise summaries of two of her most noteworthy judicial rulings.
R. v. Morgentaler, 1988 (Abortion Law)
In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down abortion law in Canada, after finding it to be unconstitutional. The majority judgements on the R v Morgentaler case, which included Justice Wilson, found that the current abortion provisions in the criminal code (Section 251 at the time of the decision) were in violation of Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees an individual’s right to “security of the person”.
Furthermore, Justice Wilson found that the current law also violated Section 7 of the Charter on the basis of the guaranteed right to “liberty”. Additionally, she found that the current law was also in violation of Section 2 (a) of the Charter, which guarantees the right to “freedom of conscience”.
“This decision is one that will have profound psychological, economic and social consequences for the pregnant woman. The circumstances giving rise to it can be complex and varied and there may be, and usually are, powerful considerations militating in opposite directions. It is a decision that deeply reflects the way the woman thinks about herself and her relationship to others and to society at large. It is not just a medical decision; it is a profound social and ethical one as well. Her response to it will be the response of the whole person.” – Justice Bertha Wilson
R. v. Lavallee, 1990 (Battered Wife Syndrome)
R. v. Lavallee was a Supreme Court Case which concerned the legal recognition of “battered wife syndrome” as a defense, and is recognized as one of the most famous judgements written by Justice Wilson during her time on the supreme court.
In the case of Lavallee, who was involved in a physically abusive relationship, she shot her abuser in the back of the head after he made threats to kill her. Lavallee argued that her actions were in self-defense. The Supreme Court reviewed the case after an appeal against her acquittal, and Justice Wilson, authorizing the majority decision, acknowledged the concept of “battered wife syndrome” as a defense to murder. As a result, Lavallee’s acquittal was reinstated.
“Expert evidence on the psychological effect of battering on wives and common law partners must, it seems to me, be both relevant and necessary in the context of the present case. How can the mental state of the appellant be appreciated without it? The average member of the public (or of the jury) can be forgiven for asking: Why would a woman put up with this kind of treatment? Why should she continue to live with such a man? How could she love a partner who beat her to the point of requiring hospitalization? We would expect the woman to pack her bags and go. Where is her self-respect? Why does she not cut loose and make a new life for herself? Such is the reaction of the average person confronted with the so-called “battered wife syndrome”. We need help to understand it and help is available from trained professionals.”
“The tragedy of domestic violence can hardly be overstated. Greater media attention to this phenomenon in recent years has revealed both its prevalence and its horrific impact on women from all walks of life. Far from protecting women from it, the law historically sanctioned the abuse of women within marriage as an aspect of the husband’s ownership of his wife and his “right” to chastise her. One need only recall the centuries old law that a man is entitled to beat his wife with a stick “no thicker than his thumb”.” – Justice Bertha Wilson
In 1991, Wilson retired from the Supreme Court of Canada, and was elected as both a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada, and named as a Companion of the Order of Canada. She also went on to serve as the commissioner of the Royal Commision on Aboriginal People’s. Wilson earned 29 honorary degrees over the course of her career, including a second one from Dalhousie University. Wilson passed away at the age of 83 in Ottawa, Ontario – but her legacy will live on forever in the Canadian legal system, Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law and beyond. “If women lawyers and women judges through their differing perspectives on life can bring a new humanity to bear on the decision-making process, perhaps they will make a difference. Perhaps they will succeed in infusing the law with an understanding of what it means to be fully human.” – Bertha Wilson, in her lecture “Will Women Judges Really Make a Difference?”, which detailed her experience of being Canada’s first Supreme Court Judge and tackled the issue of gender in the judiciary.