Abella, Rosalie Silberman (1946-…), served as a puisne (associate) justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 2004 to 2021. She was the first Jewish woman to become a member of the nation’s highest court. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court, Abella served on the Ontario Court of Appeal, the highest court in Ontario. She has been a strong supporter of human, labor, and minority rights.
Rosalie Silberman was born on July 1, 1946, in Stuttgart, Germany, in a camp for Jewish refugees of World War II (1939-1945). She moved to Canada with her family in 1950 and married Irving Abella, a Canadian professor, in 1968. Rosalie Abella earned a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Toronto in 1970 and became licensed to practice law in 1972.
From 1972 to 1976, Abella had a private practice in civil and criminal law. In 1976, she became Canada’s youngest judge and first Jewish female judge when she was appointed to the family division of the Ontario Provincial Court. Abella chaired the Ontario Human Rights Commission (1975-1980) and the Ontario Law Reform Commission (1989-1992). In 1983, as commissioner of the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment, she developed the concept of employment equity, meaning equality in the Canadian workplace.
During her career, Abella has held academic posts at universities in Canada, Israel, and the United States. In 1992, she was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed Abella to the Supreme Court in 2004. She retired from the court in 2021.
