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Janice Tibbetts, The Ottawa Citizen ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The Supreme Court of Canada is a happier place to work because of the presence of women, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said. There are yoga classes, cakes for all the judges' birthdays, nicer pictures on the walls, better food in the dining room and "wonder of wonders -- a piano," she said yesterday to a gathering of female judges. Four of the nine judges on the Supreme Court are women, which is a record among western countries. "I venture to suggest that women on courts may mean happier courts," said Chief Justice McLachlin, adding what she described as a "lighter note" to a serious speech on the contributions that female judges make to the justice system. In Canada, about one in three judges are women, while they comprise more than 50 per cent of the population. Chief Justice McLachlin stopped short of calling for more female judges and instead devoted much of her speech to the reasons why women are essential on the bench. Not only is it symbolic to have them there, female litigants may feel outnumbered and intimidated if they were to face a courtroom full of men, she said. "As women more and more occupy important positions in society and in commerce, they need to feel at home in the courtroom," Chief Justice McLachlin said, according to a written version of her speech. "The reality is that many people, particularly women, may have less than complete trust in a system composed exclusively or predominantly of middle-aged white men in pin-striped trousers." Moreover, she said, the justice system needs the perspective that women bring to judging, based on their life experiences. "In this respect, women can make a unique contribution to the deliberations of our courts." But Chief Justice McLachlin stressed that she wants to distance herself from the extreme version of the argument, that some people claim women judge differently from men because they have a different "ethical sense." That theory, once raised by Chief Justice McLachlin's retired colleague, Bertha Wilson, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court, "overstates gender differences," the chief justice said. "To suggest a single feminine world view discounts the incredible variety and diversity of women," her prepared text said. Chief Justice McLachlin, who is known for sticking to the letter of the law, went on to say that judges are trained to apply the law and are therefore likely to reach the same conclusions, regardless of gender. The four female members of the Canadian court are Chief Justice McLachlin,
and justices Marie Deschamps, Rosalie Abella and Louise Charron.
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