Rosalie Abella

Rosalie Silberman Abella (born July 1, 1946) is a Canadian jurist. In 2004, Abella was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, becoming the first Jewish woman and refugee to sit on the Canadian Supreme Court bench.
Early life and education.
Rosalie Silberman Abella was born on July 1, 1946, the daughter of Jacob and Fanny (Krongold) Silberman. She was born in a displaced persons camp in Stuttgart, Germany, where her father, a lawyer, was appointed by the Americans as head of legal services for displaced persons in the Allied Zone of Southwest Germany. In 1950, her family was admitted into Canada, though Jacob Silberman was not allowed to practise law because he was not a citizen. 
From a young age, Abella was determined to become a lawyer. She attended Oakwood Collegiate Institute and Bathurst Heights Secondary School in Toronto, Ontario. She then attended the University of Toronto, where she earned a B.A. in 1967, and an LL.B in 1970. In 1964, Abella graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music in classical piano.
Career.
Abella was called to the Ontario bar in 1972. She practised civil and criminal litigation until 1976, when, at the age of 29, she was appointed to the Ontario Family Court (which is now part of the Ontario Court of Justice), becoming both the youngest and first pregnant judge in Canadian history. She was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1992.
In 1984, Abella was appointed as the sole commissioner of the 1984 federal Royal Commission on Equality in Employment. As commissioner, she coined the term and concept of "employment equity", a strategy for reducing barriers in employment faced by women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and Aboriginal peoples. The theories of equality and discrimination developed in the report were adopted in "Andrews v Law Society of British Columbia" (1989), the Supreme Court of Canada's first decision regarding equality rights under the "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms". Its recommendations report were also adopted by jurisdictions including New Zealand, South Africa, and Northern Ireland.
In 1988, Abella moderated the televised English-language leaders' debate between Brian Mulroney (PC), John Turner (Liberal) and Ed Broadbent (NDP).
Abella has acted as chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Ontario Study into Access to Legal Services by the Disabled and the Ontario Law Reform Commission, and as a member of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and of the judicial inquiry into the Donald Marshall, Jr. case. From 1988 to 1992, she taught at McGill University Faculty of Law as the Boulton Visiting Professor.
In 2004, Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed Abella to the Supreme Court of Canada. Abella became the first Jewish woman to sit on the court. She is eligible to serve on the Supreme Court until July 1, 2021, when she turns 75. In February 2021, she announced that she would retire on that date, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau started the selection process of a new justice that would succeed her. Following her retirement from the Supreme Court, Abella will become a visiting professor at Harvard Law School.
Abella is an authority on constitutional law and human rights law. Her opinions often cite foreign and international law.
Honours and personal life.
Abella has received at least 38 honorary degrees. She became a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1997. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. She was elected a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007. In May 2016, she was awarded an honorary degree from Yale University, becoming the first Canadian woman to earn such an honour. In addition, she has been a judge of the Giller Prize. In January 2017, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law's Center for International Human Rights named her the Global Jurist of the Year for 2016 in recognition of her commitment to human rights and international criminal justice. In April 2018, Abella was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society.
Abella is married to historian Irving Abella, and has two sons.