Supreme Court of Canada judges visit Thunder Bay, Ont., to cap off 150th-anniversary tour

Judges with the Supreme Court of Canada are in Thunder Bay, Ont., on the last leg of their tour across the country to mark the court’s 150th anniversary.

As Canada's highest court, its four men and five women justices hear cases in all areas of law.

The northwestern Ontario city of Thunder Bay is their fifth and final stop, following visits to Victoria, Moncton, N.B., Yellowknife and Sherbrooke, Que., earlier this year.

Richard Wagner, chief justice of Canada, said that in every community they’ve visited, they have heard “the same questions from the public” about how the court can protect constitutional and Charter rights.

“[The] public is very concerned about what they read and what they hear about what's going on in other countries — some of them very close to us — and they are afraid that these events could come to Canada,” Wagner told members of the media Monday morning.

“What I tell them is that we're not immune, but we have very strong institutions. We have to protect them and we have to talk about it — and I truly believe that education is one good way to do it.”

Wagner did not give specific examples of concerns he's been hearing.

However, in the U.S., such issues include those related to immigration, such as efforts to deport people.

Wagner is visiting Thunder Bay with Justice Malcolm Rowe and Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin, the first and only Indigenous person to sit on the Supreme Court.

Their two-day trip includes meetings with the local legal community and judiciary, high school students and students at the Bora Laskin faculty of law — which has mandatory courses on Indigenous legal issues in its curriculum.

“It's actually a response to the calls to actions from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada under the parts [about] education,” O’Bonsawin said of the school’s Indigenous classes. 

“I think it's really important because it puts into action the fact that we need a better understanding of Indigenous culture, traditions and legal orders.”

In northwestern Ontario, people from remote First Nations often travel hundreds of kilometres to service hubs like Thunder Bay to access legal services.

Otherwise, hearings are held in makeshift courtrooms in community centres or take place virtually, if the technology is available.