When Supreme Court Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin was nine years old, she decided she wanted to become a lawyer.
This was a surprise to her parents, as she’d grown up in Hanmer in what she describes as a “blue-collar” family, with her mom working as a teacher and her father at Inco.
“However, my parents encouraged me along the way, at every turn,” she said, in her address to graduates at Laurentian University’s morning convocation ceremony June 4, where she became the first person since 2020 to receive an honorary doctorate from LU.
“And in high school, when it came time to choose and discuss with my guidance counsellor what my career choice was going to be, I told them that I was going to be a lawyer. And he said, ‘If you come from a small town in Northern Ontario, you're likely not going to become a lawyer.' And I remember I got mad and I thought to myself, ‘You know what, just watch me.’”
When O’Bonsawin was nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2022, her mind immediately went back to that guidance counsellor.
“When it became public that I was the prime minister’s nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada, I asked my mom, I said, ‘I wonder if the guidance counsellor saw the news,’” she said.
“I tell this story because I want everyone who is guiding our youth to be mindful of the words that they say.”
She said from an early age, her parents taught her the importance of working hard and always giving 100 per cent, no matter what the task was.
“That is what I've always done,” said O’Bonsawin, who’s actually already a graduate of Laurentian University, having earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature and history from LU.
“I encourage all the graduates today to do the same. These teachings allowed me to achieve success and to complete my master’s and my PhD degrees while working as a lawyer and a full time judge.
“I also want to briefly talk to you about your journey to the graduates today. At times there will be bumps in your roads. And in fact, you’ll take some new turns and you'll fall quite a few times. My own journey has not always been in a straight line. There have been twists and turns along the way. I've fallen, but I must assure you every time I got up, I dusted myself off. I learned from my mistakes. I persevered and I did not make those mistakes again.”
As an off-reserve Indigenous youth, O’Bonsawin said she and her family experienced adversity when she was growing up.
She said kids used to laugh at her last name, which means “Pathfinder” in her language, and her father told her that kids used to call him and his siblings the “Savages of Sunnybrae,” referring to the street in Sudbury on which he’d grown up.
“I have to tell you that I've thought about this a lot recently, and we've really come a long way towards reconciliation,” O’Bonsawin said. “I've always been very conscious of my Abenaki identity, an identity that I affirm and that represents me.”
The Supreme Court justice is one of three people who will be conferred honorary doctorates by Laurentian this week, with Catharine Farrow also receiving the honour on June 5 and Daniel Andreae on June 6.
They are the first people to receive honorary doctorates from Laurentian in almost four years, following the university’s 2021-2022 court-supervised insolvency restructuring.
O’Bonsawin said she wants to “congratulate the others who have or will receive honorary doctorates in the coming days, and especially to all of the graduates that are here with us today. It's a proud day for all of us, but also for your parents and your family.”
‘I am grateful for the warm welcome,’ says new LU president
During the June 4 morning convocation ceremony, Laurentian University also officially installed its 12th president and vice-chancellor.
Lynn Wells, who began her term as Laurentian’s president in April, said she was “deeply honoured and humbled” to address convocation as LU’s newly-installed president.
“I'm still getting used to that, even though I've been here for three months,” Wells said. “It's incredibly special to me, and I am grateful for the warm welcome I have received from everyone here.”
She had words of thanks for Laurentian’s faculty and staff, whose “dedication and hard work are the backbone of our university. Every day you shape minds, nurture growth and contribute to the collective success of our community.”
Wells also thanked the graduating students for sharing their big day with her installation.
“Your energy and passion are truly what makes the university come alive,” she said. “You are the reason we are here, and everything we do is aimed at ensuring your success and well-being.”
She said she’s excited about the journey ahead for Laurentian. “I look forward to working together to achieve great things from Laurentian University,” Wells said.
Laurentian’s convocation ceremonies run this week until June 7. They will be streamed live via YouTube and are available from laurentian.ca.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
