A new state-of-the-art, high-tech Moot Court Room will be dedicated to the Honourable Madam Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, a 1970 alumnus who has dedicated her life to the betterment of the legal profession and legal institutions. The gift recognizes Abella's outstanding contributions to the administration of justice in Canada, and celebrates her appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2004.
"As one of only four females sitting on the SCC, Rosie is the first female graduate of the Faculty of Law to receive this highest of honours," says Dean Ron Daniels. "It's only fitting that one of the most important classrooms at the law school, where students learn the art of advocacy in a courtroom setting, be named in her honour."
"Rosie," as she is affectionately known throughout the legal community, was born in Stuttgart, Germany, and immigrated to Canada in 1950. She obtained her B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1967 and her LL.B. in 1970. Over the course of her career, she has been awarded 19 honorary degrees, authored more than 70 articles, and written or co-edited four books. After being called to the Bar of Ontario in 1972, she was engaged in a general litigation practice from 1972 to 1976, and from 1983 to 1984, acted as Sole Commissioner of the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment, where she coined the phrase, "employment equity." Many more community roles and accolades followed. In 1990, Maclean's Magazine decorated her with an Honour Roll Medal; in 1992, she won a Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Bar Association (Ontario); and in 1996, the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law honoured Rosie with its Distinguished Alumnus Award. A year later, Rosie became a Specially Elected Fellow at the Royal Society of Canada. After being appointed to the Ontario Provincial Court (Family Division) in 1976, making judicial history as Canada's first female Jewish judge, she joined the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1992. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in August 2004. Married to Irving M. Abella, a York University Professor of Canadian History, Rosie has two children, Jacob and Zachary.
The Rosalie Silberman Abella Moot Court Room will be a centrepiece of the Faculty's new building. It was made possible through the generosity of a number of Rosie's friends and admirers, who pledged a total of $1 million to the project. The lead donors include Charles and Andrea Bronfman, Stephen and Claudine Bronfman, Andrew Hauptman and Ellen Bronfman Hauptman, Ralph Halbert, Hal Jackman, Jonas Prince, Joseph Rotman, Lionel and Carol Schipper, Gerald (Gerry) Schwartz, Edward Sonshine, and the late Milton Harris. Other significant supporters of the project include Ephraim Diamond, Martin Goldberg, Martin Goldfarb, Leo Kolber, Larry Tanenbaum, and the firm of Gluskin Sheff & Associates.
