Naiomi Metallic (BA’02, LLB’05) is among the experts speaking out in response to a recent report on racial diversity in the Canadian judiciary.

Monitoring the statistics

The report found that of the 2,160 judges in Canada’s provincial superior and lower courts, merely one per cent are aboriginal and three per cent are racial minorities.

Metallic, Dalhousie’s chair of aboriginal law and policy and a Mi’kmaq woman, was recently cited by the Toronto Star in response to the findings.

“After many years of saying this is an important issue, it’s very disappointing to see how low the numbers are,” said Metallic. She calls Canada’s judiciary a “judiciary of whiteness.” 

Along with other advocates, Metallic has vowed to keep a close watch on how the 41 vacancies in Canada’s federally appointed positions and 40 vacancies in provincial positions are filled.

Striving for diversity

In 2006, Metallic became the Supreme Court of Canada’s first Mi’kmaq law clerk. She is an alumna of the Indigenous Blacks and Mi’kmaq Initiative at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law.

Metallic works to address racial disparities in Nova Scotia’s legal profession as part of a Nova Scotia Bar Society committee. Of Nova Scotia’s 99 judges, two are indigenous judges and four are visible minority lawyers.

After joining the Schulich School of Law faculty this year, Metallic will teach courses in constitutional law and Aboriginal peoples in September. She has previously taught at the school as a guest lecturer and has served on the Dalhousie University Board of Governors.

Read more in “Canada must boost racial diversity in ‘judiciary of whiteness,’ advocates urge” on thestar.com and “Naiomi Metallic to join Schulich School of Law faculty in July” on dal.ca.

Photo: Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press