Madam Speaker, I am truly humbled and pleased to recognize my friend, teacher, mentor and one of Canada's sharpest legal minds, Barbara Jackman. In recognition of her important contributions to the law and human rights, Ms. Jackman will receive an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Ottawa this evening.
In 1985, in one of the first charter cases to go before the courts, Ms. Jackman successfully argued the Singh decision. In that case, the Supreme Court of Canada found that the right of fundamental justice, including the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, applied to everyone within our borders, including refugee claimants.
For four decades, Ms. Jackman has advocated either as counsel, intervenor or friend of the court on many seminal decisions. Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau enshrined the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1981. Yet it is the likes of Barbara Jackman who have given life to those important rights.
I would like to thank Barbara, who is visiting Parliament today, for her sacrifice and work in helping to make Canada a fairer and more just and humane society.