A Tribute To One Of Canada’s Most Honourable Judges: Murray Sinclair
Photo Credit: Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
On Nov. 4, Manitoba’s first-ever Indigenous judge, and Canada’s second, passed away. Murray Sinclair, an advocate for Indigenous Peoples and Truth and Reconciliation, died peacefully in Winnipeg, at the age of 73.
Sinclair was born and raised north of Winnipeg on the former St. Peter’s Indian Reserve in 1951. He graduated from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law in 1979, was called to the bar, and soon after, became an Associate Chief Judge in the Provincial Court of Manitoba. From 1988–1991, Sinclair was co-chair of Manitoba’s Aboriginal Justice Inquiry.
Through this position, Sinclair called attention to the rampant systemic discrimination that Indigenous Peoples faced within the legal system, and the societal barriers that they were forced to overcome. Sinclair’s findings contributed to the creation of Gladue’s principle in 1996, which requires consideration of an Indigenous offender’s background and life circumstances during sentencing. He also began important conversations and investigations regarding judicial practices in Manitoba and beyond.
After his time in the judiciary system, he was appointed Chief Commissioner of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation commission in 2009. After the committee released its 94 Calls to Action in June of 2015, Sinclair was appointed to Canada’s senate. He served in that position from 2016 to 2021.
Sinclair chaired several social-work committees across Canada, and was invested by the Governor General as a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2022. During her speech at his celebration of life, Governor General Mary Simon described Sinclair as a kind and honest man, who had a "heart brave enough to expose injustices, yet generous enough to make everyone around him feel welcome and important."
On Nov. 7, Sinclair was laid to rest in the first national commemorative ceremony for an Indigenous leader in Canada. According to a statement from his family, Sinclair was the Western Doorway Chief and Road Chief of the Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge, and his funeral rites were performed in accordance with traditional practices. Leaders and advocates from Indigenous communities attended the ceremony, as well as Sinclair’s family, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Governor General Mary Simon, and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.
Kinew made a powerful tribute speech at the commemorative ceremony, explaining that Sinclair encouraged him to stay in politics and make a bid for premier. Both men are members of the Ojibway first nation, and Sinclair’s son, Niigaan Sinclair, said that the swearing-in of Kinew — a ceremony that Murray Sinclair presided over — was “one of the proudest moments of his father's life,” according to CBC News.
Sinclair’s Indigenous culture — and later the celebration of it — was a focal point of his life. A member of Peguis First Nation, his spirit name is Mazina Giizhik-iban, which means "the one who speaks of pictures in the sky" in Anishinaabemowin. In a speech at the celebration of life, Niigan Sinclair explained that adding the “-iban” to the end of his father’s spirit name meant that he was now an ancestor.
"An ancestor that is doing that work on that side for all of us," explained Niigaan. "And if you're able to, if you remember, if you could do that work, because when he hears his name, he may be tempted to come back to this side."