French
DeutschMabel Van Camp
Mabel Margaret Van Camp (1920 – April 19, 2012) was a Canadian judge who in 1971 became the first woman on the Supreme Court of Ontario.
Early life[edit]
Van Camp was born in 1920 in the farming village of Blackstock, Ontario,[1] to William John Weir and Mary Jane (Smith) Van Camp. Mabel Van Camp grew up in this town alongside her three other sisters with whom she spent a lot of time.[2] She finished high school in her hometown[2] at age 16, and then became the first person from Blackstock to attend university. Mabel Van Camp attended Victoria University, and proceeded to attend Osgoode Hall for legal studies.[2] Despite the dean of Osgoode Hall Law School telling her that life in the legal profession would be too difficult for a woman, she attended the university and graduated cum laude in 1947.[1] That same year she passed her bar exam.[2]
Career[edit]
She practiced law, and became a partner, at the Toronto firm of Beaudoin, Pepper & Van Camp, which had previously been all-male. In fact, from an early point in her career, Van Camp's general practice was highly connected to that of Gerard Beaudoin.[2] In 1971, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed her to the Ontario Supreme Court, giving her the distinction of being the first woman on that court.[1] She was the president of the Women's Law Association of Ontario, a chancellor dean of the Alpha Mu chapter of the Kappa Beta Pi legal sorority, and on the board of directors of the YWCA.[2] Furthermore, she was a member of the Council of the Canadian Bar Association and of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs.[2] Mabel Van Camp was also a regent of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) in the Fudger House chapter.[2] She retired in 1995, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75[3] and was honoured with an appointment to the Order of Ontario in 2003.
Personal life[edit]
She had no children of her own, but was generous in supporting the education of all 15 of her nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. She also enjoyed reading and skiing (which she did around her home).[2] Frequently, Ms. Van Camp read fairy tales and children's stories to her nieces and nephews, and enjoyed buying them toys.[2] Mabel Van Camp also visited her mother on the weekends in her hometown of Blackstock.[2] She died on April 19, 2012, in Amherstview, Ontario, at the age of 91.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Atkinson, William Illsey (August 9, 2012). "'I am the damn judge': Ontario's first madam justice sometimes went unrecognized when people were expecting a man", The Globe and Mail, p. S6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Long, Elizabeth. "A Gallery of Women". Biographies of Women, Series: 4. University of Waterloo.
- ^ Claridge, Thomas (May 13, 1995). "Retiring Ontario judge, 75, ready for the next course: Madam Justice Mabel Van Camp plans to take up ancient Greek", The Globe and Mail, p. A5.