Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and the Law

by Beverley McLachlin

Overview

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE WRITERS’ TRUST SHAUGHNESSY COHEN PRIZE
WINNER OF THE OTTAWA BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION

​Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin offers an intimate and revealing look at her life, from her childhood in the Alberta foothills to her career on the Supreme Court, where she helped to shape the social and moral fabric of the country.

As a young girl, Beverley McLachlin’s world was often full of wonder—at the expansive prairie vistas around her, at the stories she discovered in the books at her local library, and at the diverse people who passed through her parents’ door. While her family was poor, their lives were rich in the ways that mattered most. Even at a young age, she had an innate sense of justice, which was reinforced by the lessons her parents taught her: Everyone deserves dignity. All people are equal. Those who work hard reap the rewards. Willful, spirited, and unusually intelligent, she discovered in Pincher Creek an extraordinary tapestry of people and perspectives that informed her worldview going forward.

Still, life in the rural Prairies was lonely, and gaining access to education—especially for girls—wasn’t always easy. As a young woman, McLachlin moved to Edmonton to pursue a degree in philosophy. There, she discovered her passion lay not in academia, but in the real world, solving problems directly related to the lives of the people around her. And in the law, she found the tools to do exactly that.

She soon realized, though, that the world was not always willing to accept her. In her early years as an articling student and lawyer, she encountered sexism, exclusion, and old boys’ clubs at every turn. And outside the courtroom, personal loss and tragedies struck close to home. Nonetheless, McLachlin was determined to prove her worth, and her love of the law and the pursuit of justice pulled her through the darkest moments.

McLachlin’s meteoric rise through the courts soon found her serving on the highest court in the country, becoming the first woman to be named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She rapidly distinguished herself as a judge of renown, one who was never afraid to take on morally complex or charged debates. Over the next eighteen years, McLachlin presided over the most prominent cases in the country—involving Charter challenges, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia. One judgment at a time, she laid down a legal legacy that proved that fairness and justice were not luxuries of the powerful but rather obligations owed to each and every one of us.

With warmth, honesty, and deep wisdom, McLachlin invites us into her legal and personal life—into the hopes and doubts, the triumphs and losses on and off the bench. Through it all, her constant faith in justice remained her true north. In an age of division and uncertainty, McLachlin’s memoir is a reminder that justice and the rule of law remain our best hope for a progressive and bright future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982104962
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	09/24/2019
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Beverley McLachlin is the #1 bestselling author of two novels, Full Disclosure and Denial, and a memoir, Truth Be Told, which won the prestigious Writers’ Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing and the Ottawa Book Award for Nonfiction. From 2000 to 2017, McLachlin was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She is the first woman to hold that position and the longest-serving Chief Justice in Canadian history. In 2018, McLachlin became a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honour within the Order. Visit her at BeverleyMcLachlin.com.

Read an Excerpt

Truth Be Told
IN APRIL 1989, I was sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Pundits hailed the appointment of a third woman to the court of nine as a remarkable advance for women’s rights. I was less convinced. Male justices still outnumbered women by two to one. Most of the speakers at the swearing-in ceremony were men, and when I scanned the courtroom, I saw more male faces than female.

As I swore my oath of office in the august chamber of the court, I spared a thought for Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby—the so-called Famous Five. I had long admired and striven to live up to their legacy, and I knew that without them, this moment would not have happened. Would they have been pleased to see a third woman named to the Supreme Court of Canada? I wondered. Yes, I thought. But they would also have been surprised that it took so long. Seventy years had passed since they began fighting for women to be allowed to hold public office. Seventy years.

Many years after this momentous day, United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg visited our court for the first time. As we sat talking after her tour, Justice Ginsburg fixed me with her dark eyes and, in her customary slow, deliberate manner, asked, “What is the history of women’s legal rights in Canada?”

I considered a moment before answering. “It started with the Famous Five and the Persons Case.”

It was 1919 in Edmonton, Alberta, a young community growing into a city. Edmonton was still frontier territory, filling up with people heading west from cities like Montreal and Toronto. Young men seeking wealth and adventure. Young women seeking husbands and sometimes more—an escape from the constraints of the settled East.

One of these women was Emily Murphy. The wife of an Anglican minister, mother to four children, and published author, Emily was determined to do whatever she could to help build her new community, and Edmonton urgently needed the rule of law. Emily had no legal experience, but she understood people and what went on in their lives, and she couldn’t abide the practice of excluding women from courtrooms when the evidence was, in a (male) judge’s view, “not fit for mixed company.” She protested and lobbied—arguing that the government had an obligation to create a special court run by women for women—and finally, she secured an appointment as a city magistrate.

As she headed to court on her first day, I imagine Emily Murphy was buoyed by the fact that women like her were starting to make their way in the world, just as men did. Earlier that year, Alberta women, after decades of painful struggle, had finally won the right to vote. Headlines proclaimed that women were equal, with full political rights. But if Emily dreamed of a new age of equality, her hopes were soon to be dashed. As the story goes, she entered her little courtroom and the clerk called the case, but no one rose. After a few moments, the lawyer behind the defence table got to his feet. “I apprehend that my friend may have a preliminary motion to put before the court,” he said, then sank back into his leather chair.

Emily looked inquiringly at counsel for the applicant.

“I find myself in a position of some difficulty,” the man said. “It seems I am expected to address the court, but I find no court to address.”

Emily shook her head. She had been duly sworn in the day before, to much hoopla. “Would you be so kind as to explain?”

“The matter is one of some delicacy, madam. But let me come to the point: only ‘persons’ are permitted to occupy positions of public office. Magistrate is a position of public office. A woman is not a ‘person’ under the law of Canada. You are a woman. Therefore, there is no magistrate in this room, no judge. I cannot proceed.” He inclined his head. “If I may be so bold, madam, I suggest you retire so this court may be lawfully constituted before a proper judge.”

We do not know the precise words spoken or actions taken on that day a century ago. Perhaps Emily was shocked to be told she had no right to sit as a judge—certainly she must have felt angry. What we do know is that she rejected the motion and went on to hear the case before her.

In the years that followed, other female magistrates in Alberta were challenged simply because they were women, and eventually the issue made its way to the Supreme Court of Alberta, which ruled that despite their gender, women were “persons” and hence capable of sitting as judges.

But the issue festered and rankled. Women could be judges in Alberta, but what about the rest of the country? And what about other public positions? Did women have the right to be members of Parliament or senators? The question would soon be answered. In 1922, Murphy herself was up for an appointment to the Senate. Predictably, the government of Prime Minister Mackenzie King rejected her nomination on the grounds that Murphy was not a “person” capable of holding public office. Between 1917 and 1927, five different governments proposed women for Senate seats. The answer was always the same.

So once again, Emily Murphy took action. She invited Edwards, McClung, McKinney, and Parlby to her home. She proposed that the five of them draft a petition to the governor general, seeking a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the interpretation of the word “persons” in Section 24 of Canada’s constitution, the British North America Act. The Famous Five, as they are now known, raised money, hired lawyers, and mounted a case to contest the established view that women were not “persons” and could not hold public office. Prime Minister King’s government agreed. The Supreme Court of Canada did not. It was obliged—or felt itself obliged—to apply the law of the British Empire, which was that women were not “qualified” to hold public office.1

The Famous Five refused to accept defeat. They raised more money and hired a new lawyer to take their case to the final court of appeal—the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in far-off London, England. To the surprise of everyone and the consternation of many, the women succeeded.

While newspaper editorials predicted the demise of civilized society, Viscount Sankey, writing for the Judicial Committee, stated that society had changed. More and more, women were occupying positions of public responsibility, he noted, and the time had come to recognize that women were indeed “persons” capable of holding public office. The constitution, he added, had “planted in Canada a living tree capable of growth and expansion within its natural limits.”2

As I shared the story of the Persons Case with Justice Ginsburg and the other judges around the luncheon table, I reflected on how the case had changed Canadian law forever—not just in the rights it accorded women, but also in establishing that Canadian law was not frozen in time, but rather was capable of measured and principled evolution to keep pace with social change. It has been said that Canada came of age as a nation with its contribution to the ultimate victory of England and the Allies in the First World War. It can equally be said that Canada came of age as a legal and jurisprudential force, whose law would be studied and emulated elsewhere, with the Persons Case of 1929.

Sixty years after the Persons Case was decided, as I was sworn in as the third woman ever to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada, the path set by those early trailblazers was at the front of my mind. It was a moment of pride, tempered only by the thought of how many women in decades past had been denied the immense privilege of sitting on the country’s highest court.

What took us so long? I thought. And then, What is still holding us back?

Thirty years later, I still ponder these questions. What follows is the story of one “person”—of her journey towards a world in which women and men are truly equal, where people of any gender, race, or background can aspire to the same goals.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Part 1 The Student

1 An Ordinary Girl 9

2 Pincher Creek 17

3 An Education 29

4 Rich in Difference 41

5 Home on the Ranch 51

6 Lady Jane Grey 61

7 Into the World 69

8 Follow Your Bliss 73

9 Love, Actually 85

10 Have You Thought about the Law? 95

Part 2 The Lawyer

11 Law Studies 105

12 Our Rightful Place in the World 117

13 Into the Fray 123

14 Strange Comfort 135

15 Back to School 143

16 Parenthood 151

Part 3 The Judge

17 The New Judge 167

18 Growing and Grieving 175

19 The New Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada 191

20 A New World on the Ottawa 197

21 Changing Minds 207

22 Morality and the Law 213

23 The Right to Speak 223

24 The Final Taboo 227

25 On Life and Death 237

26 The Marriage Act 245

27 Division and Discord 255

28 Passages 265

Part 4 The Chief Justice

29 A New Chief Justice 275

30 Truth and Reconciliation 285

31 Branching Out 295

32 Of Princesses and Power 305

33 Justice for All 315

34 Just Politics 323

35 Towards the Finish Line 333

36 Citizen McLachlin 339

Epilogue 349

Acknowledgments 351

Notes 353

Photo Credits 363

Index 365

Reading Group Guide

To come.

Interviews

To come.

Foreword

To come.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Beverley McLachlin

“She offers a powerful window into how her life and the law intertwine. . . . It is this orientation—McLachlin seeing the law in human terms and showing her own humanity in her law-making, rejecting legal ideology in favour of the specifics of the case in front of her—that may best define her legacy.”
— The Walrus

“Her legacy . . . is now part of the country’s foundations.”
— The Globe and Mail

Praise for Full Disclosure

Shortlisted for the Arthus Ellis Best First Crime Novel

“We know Beverley McLachlin as a pioneer—the first woman to serve as Canada’s Chief Justice. But now we’ll know her for something else entirely: gripping crime fiction. . . . Full Disclosure is a well-crafted page-turner in the vein of international bestsellers like Sarah Vaughan’s Anatomy of a Scandal, and is packed with courtroom drama, intrigue, plot twists, and fascinating details about our criminal justice system. Written in an accessible voice, with a fast-moving narrative, this is beach, cabin, and airplane reading at its best.”
— Vancouver Sun

“A riveting thriller.”
— Costco Connection

“Gripping, intricate, and full of heart, Full Disclosure is a bold debut by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Novelist Beverley McLachlin is a force to be reckoned with.”
— KATHY REICHS, bestselling author of the Bones series

“For page-turning legal thrillers, it’s hard to do better than this one, and not just because it’s by the ultimate insider: the recently retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.”
— Maclean’s

“A great read. . . . Has sequel written all over it.”
— CBC’s Sunday Edition

“Totally compelling: McLachlin brings her wit and intelligence—and unrivalled experience—to this courtroom drama, which brilliantly illuminates the games lawyers play and the risks of wrong choices. The main character, Jilly Truitt, is a woman I want to meet again.”
— CHARLOTTE GRAY, bestselling author of The Promise of Canada

“McLachlin puts her experience on the Court to good use, writing a taut legal thriller with great twists and turns that will keep readers guessing to the very end.”
— CATHERINE McKENZIE, bestselling author of Six Weeks to Live

“What we have here is the inquiring mind of the lawyer and jurist, now bold new writer. . . . Beverley McLachlin has created something real and visceral. Hats off, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and all rise for what we hope will be the encore.”
— Canadian Lawyer Magazine

From the Publisher

McLachlin puts her experience on the Court to good use, writing a taut legal thriller with great twists and turns that will keep readers guessing to the very end.

Catherine McKenzie

Praise for Full Disclosure

Shortlisted for the Arthus Ellis Best First Crime Novel

“We know Beverley McLachlin as a pioneer — the first woman to serve as Canada’s Chief Justice. But now we’ll know her for something else entirely: gripping crime fiction. . . . Full Disclosure is a well-crafted page-turner in the vein of international bestsellers like Sarah Vaughan’s Anatomy of a Scandal, and is packed with courtroom drama, intrigue, plot twists, and fascinating details about our criminal justice system. Written in an accessible voice, with a fast-moving narrative, this is beach, cabin, and airplane reading at its best.

Vancouver Sun

A page-turner.

Maclean’s

Praise for Beverley McLachlin

“She offers a powerful window into how her life and the law intertwine. . . . It is this orientation—McLachlin seeing the law in human terms and showing her own humanity in her law-making, rejecting legal ideology in favour of the specifics of the case in front of her—that may best define her legacy.

The Walrus

A great read. . . . Has sequel written all over it.

CBC’s Sunday Edition

Her legacy . . . is now part of the country’s foundations.

The Globe and Mail

Totally compelling: McLachlin brings her wit and intelligence—and unrivalled experience—to this courtroom drama, which brilliantly illuminates the games lawyers play and the risks of wrong choices. The main character, Jilly Truitt, is a woman I want to meet again.

Charlotte Gray

What we have here is the inquiring mind of the lawyer and jurist, now bold new writer. . . . Beverley McLachlin has created something real and visceral. Hats off, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and all rise for what we hope will be the encore.

Canadian Lawyer Magazine

A riveting thriller.

Costco Connection

Gripping, intricate, and full of heart, Full Disclosure is a bold debut by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Novelist Beverley McLachlin is a force to be reckoned with.

Kathy Reichs

To come.