Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Michèle O'Bonsawin as a judge of the Ontario Superior Court on Friday, making her the first Indigenous person to be nominated to the Superior Court.

O'Bonsawin comes to the court after spending five years as a judge in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa, where she was also the first Indigenous woman to hold that position. Prior to that, she spent eight years working as General Counsel for the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. She has also taught law at the University of Ottawa and previously worked in legal services at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canada Post.

To learn more about her, O'Bonsawin was born in Hanmer, Ontario, just outside Sudbury, according to a biography released by the Prime Minister's Office.

On the other hand, Elmer Saint Pierre, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said in a statement on Friday: "The Supreme Court of Canada has long lacked any individual to interpret Canadian laws from an Indigenous perspective – but no longer."