Rosalie Silberman Abella brought the house down at this morning’s International Women’s Day celebration while reflecting on an extraordinary career that took her from refugee child to one of the most influential figures in Canada’s justice system.

The retired Supreme Court of Canada judge delivered equal parts wit, candour and hard-earned wisdom during a one-on-one with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in a room so packed with attendees that extra seating was brought in. She earned standing ovations both before she spoke and after she finished. International Women’s Day is officially this Sunday, but celebrations and events continue throughout the month.

When the mayor described his friend Rosie as “a lot of fun to be around,” he wasn’t kidding. Within seconds of being handed a microphone, she began crooning the opening lyric from what sounded like a George Gershwin classic.

Abella also arrived not with a trial briefcase, but with a roller-skating-themed purse. The colourful accessory later led to a story about how she lacked role models when she first became a lawyer in the early 1970s and didn’t know how she was “supposed” to dress.

In 1976, the legal trailblazer became Canada’s first pregnant judge and the youngest judge appointed in Ontario. She was 29. She went on to make history again as the first Jewish woman elevated to the country’s highest court in 2004. She’s known for her work in human rights, equality and family law. Abella retired from the bench in 2021 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. She currently serves on the faculty of the Harvard Law School.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in conversation with retired Supreme Court of Canada judge Rosalie Silberman Abella at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall on Friday, March 6, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

In his introduction, the mayor shared a quote from Abella: “Indifference is injustice’s incubator. It’s not just what you stand for, but what you stand up for.”

Abella’s parents — married on the same day Great Britain and France declared war on Germany — were Holocaust survivors who immigrated to Canada in 1950. The Nazis murdered most of her family, including an older brother she never met. Still, she described her parents as happy people, grateful when Canada started letting in Jewish refugees. “I never heard a word of bitterness or anger.”

In Canada, her father, a lawyer, turned to insurance work because the process to practice law would have taken too long. “The moment he came home and said, ‘I can’t be a lawyer’ is the moment that I decided I was going to be a lawyer. I had no idea what that meant; all I knew was he couldn’t, so I was going to.”

She recalled how, at weddings and bar mitzvahs, adults would ask what she wanted to be when she grew up, expecting her to say “married with children.”

“I did [want that], but I also wanted to be a lawyer, and they would pinch my cheeks and say, ‘Oh, sure you want to be a lawyer,’ but I never stopped wanting to be a lawyer, and no one tried to stop me.”

During a period when some women lost jobs or were forced to leave work when they got married, Abella was one of five women in a law school class of 115. She was called to the Ontario bar in 1972.

As her judicial career began skyrocketing, she politely declined all requests for press interviews, recognizing there were working mothers who had it much harder than her while raising children. Besides, she didn’t yet know if she could pull it off. She decided: “I’m not giving any interviews on ‘how to do it’ until I know ‘I’ve done it’,” said Abella, who waited until after she retired and had raised her two sons with her “incredible” husband, Irving.

“And I could say I got two really nice men,” she said proudly of her boys. After the applause died down, she added with a smile: “Who both are lawyers.”

There was more clapping when she emphatically dismissed the notion of work-life balance. “This lean in, lean out, lean up, lean down work-life balance — there’s no such thing,” she said, telling women to determine what works best for their particular situation.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe with his guest of honour, retired Supreme Court of Canada judge Rosalie Silberman Abella, and his wife Ginny Sutcliffe, director general for communications and engagement with the Canada School of Public Service, at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Her advice to the audience was simple: “Stay true to who you are.” Abella noted that her own identity encompasses being an immigrant, a former refugee, a woman and a Jew. “None of those things were easy entries into the profession I chose. All of them eventually opened doors because I insisted on being who I was, unobtrusively. I didn’t wear banners saying, ‘Here are my four or five identities.’ I just entered the grown-up world as myself.”

Abella told the room how glad she was to be a Canadian, praising the country’s legal and democratic systems while expressing concerns about what’s happening south of the border, particularly with hate speech that’s protected under the First Amendment, allowing people to say whatever they want.

“It’s created such a toxic environment and they don’t appreciate that when you allow hate speech you really silence vulnerable minorities who don’t feel they can stand up to the bullies.”

Abella said she still believes in the power of civility and decency. “And I’m counting on it, because American [troops] saved my family and saved my father’s belief that justice was possible for Jews, and so I don’t ever want to give up on them. I’m still clinging to hope. But I’m sad.”

The mayor’s admiration for Abella was unmistakable; he gushed about her being brilliant, amazing, wonderful, very sweet, kind, generous and “very, very funny.”

This led her to share a childhood story: her mother told her that, while she might not be very pretty, she should focus on her strengths — which included a great personality and being smart.

“That, of course, made me preoccupied with how I look,” she added good-naturedly.

After she became a lawyer, she had a number of television appearances, including the role of moderator of an important federal leadership debate in 1988. Following one appearance, she phoned her mother for her feedback.

“She said, ‘You were so articulate’.”

“And I said, ‘But how did I look?’”

“She said, ‘You looked so articulate’.”

It’s nice to know that breaking barriers can also mean breaking a smile.

Ottawa city councillor Ariel Troster, council liaison for women, gender equality and 2SLGBTQ+ affairs, led the room in a standing ovation for the guest of honour, Rosalie Silberman Abella, at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Catherine Mensour from The Mensour Foundation with Annabelle Cloutier, president and CEO of the National Arts Centre, at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Jessie-Lee Wallace, executive director of Volunteer Ottawa, Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa CEO Sara Cooper and Ottawa city councillor Marty Carr (Alta Vista) pose for a selfie at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Rosalie Silberman Abella, who retired from the Supreme Court of Canada in 2021, kept everyone laughing with a playful gesture while sharing stories with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and her audience during an International Women’s Day celebration at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips.

From left, Caitlin Morrison, executive director of Matthew Perry House, and Erin Benjamin, whose appointment to the Ottawa Board of Trade as its new executive vice president of advocacy and strategy was announced this week, at an International Women’s Day celebration at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From the City of Ottawa’s senior leadership team are, from left: Debbie Stewart, general manager of strategic initiatives; Clara Freire, general manager of community and social services; Wendy Stephanson, city manager; Caitlin Salter MacDonald, city clerk, and Tammy Rose, general manager of infrastructure and water services, at an International Women’s Day celebration at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Ottawa city councillor Ariel Troster, council liaison for women, gender equality and 2SLGBTQ+ affairs, delivered welcome remarks at an International Women’s Day celebration at City Hall, featuring special guest Rosalie Silberman Abella, retired judge with the Supreme Court of Canada. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Jennifer Stewart, founder and CEO of Syntax Strategic and co-founder of The Honest Talk, with Canadian photographer and Order of Canada recipient Michelle Valberg at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Melissa Chee (Vector Institute), Fiona Murray (NATO Innovation Fund), Kate Goodlad (NATO Innovation Fund), Invest Ottawa president and CEO Sonya Shorey and Kevin Reed (Defence, Security, and Resilience Bank Development Group) at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Rosalie Silberman Abella’s purse rests on her seat as she spoke at the front of the room with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Krista Kealey, vice president of communications and public consultation at Ottawa International Airport and Ottawa Board of Trade board member, with Tahera Mufti, director of communications for the Office of Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Floralove Katz takes a photo with Ottawa Centre MPP Catherine McKenney at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Victorian Order of Nurses Canada (VON) president and CEO Jo-Anne Poirier, former politician Madeleine Meilleur and Catherine Clark, president of Catherine Clark Communications, co-founder of The Honest Talk and board member (as is Poirier) of The Ottawa Hospital, at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Karla Briones, founder and CEO of Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada, at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s teenage daughter Kate showed visible embarrassment after he publicly acknowledged her at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall with special guest Rosalie Silberman Abella, seated immediately to her right. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Colette Watson, president of Rogers Sports & Media, and Margaret Dickenson at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall featuring retired judge Rosalie Silberman Abella. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Retired judge and guest of honour Rosalie Silberman Abella in conversation with Krista Kealey from the Ottawa International Airport Authority at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, United Way East Ontario president and CEO Rachael Wilson, Parkdale Food Centre executive director Beth Ciavaglia and Jennifer Francis, co-founder of SheBoot and board chair of the Capital Angel Network, at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in conversation with retired Supreme Court of Canada judge Rosalie Silberman Abella before a packed crowd at an International Women’s Day celebration held at City Hall on Friday, March 6, 2026. Photo by Caroline Phillips

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WCPD, Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, and Brazeau Seller Law.

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