Senator Murray Sinclair passed away earlier this week. Sinclair was a trailblazer, working tirelessly throughout his career to advance reconciliation and champion Indigenous rights. For this, he is known as a Canadian hero.[1] He had a groundbreaking career marked by notable achievements such as being the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba, having a pivotal role as the Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and whose work as a judge helped facilitate the amendments to the Criminal Code that established what we now know as the Gladue principles in sentencing.[2]
Much of Sinclair’s writing and work has been about “preserving the past and preserving voices, and making sure that people are not lost to memory.”[3] To that effect, we honour his life’s work by preserving the history of Murray Sinclair and getting to know him and his story a bit better.[4]
Formative Years and Intellectual Journey
Sinclair was dedicated to the church and lived his youth as if he were to become a priest until he was a teenager. His aunt, who helped raise him after his mother passed, was a teacher and taught Sinclair throughout his upbringing. She encouraged him to read many things. He came to love reading and education, finding it intellectually stimulating and challenging to his concepts of knowledge.[5] At an early age, he became aware of Indigenous authors and the colonial experience and became fascinated with history and readings about other perspectives.
His intellectual journey through literature and global teachings propelled him to go to university and eventually to a law degree and became a political giant instead of becoming a priest. He and his family agreed that he had to commit to making something of his life and remain true to his commitment to helping people if he was not to become a priest.[6] For him, it has always been about bringing about solutions to “the issues that were plaguing Indigenous people.”[7]
Early Career
Beginning his practice in 1980, “constitutional patriation dialogue” was circling.[8] The First Nations Confederacy (the precursor to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs) asked him “to design and deliver a number of community workshops on what repatriation of the constitution meant for First Nations communities… That led to becoming involved in land claims negotiations and specific claims negotiations.”[9]
Later, when asked to become a judge, he was hesitant because he loved the work he was doing as a litigator. He was representing chiefs in front of government and commissions, inquiring into and developing Indigenous child welfare legislation and agencies, litigating land claims, and was involved in community organizations he didn’t want to leave behind.[10] Although he felt he was “joining the dark side by becoming a judge,” becoming a judge ultimately led him to become co-commissioner for the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (AJI) and Chair for the TRC, which allowed him to accomplish much more important work for Indigenous rights in Canada.[11]
A Lasting Legacy
Murray Sinclair leaves a lasting legacy and much wisdom that Canadians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, will not soon forget. He shared many lessons on the importance of oral histories, listening and patience, the mutual respect needed for a nation-to-nation relationship that will breed true reconciliation, lessons on practicing self-care and caring for our families, of not shying away from difficult work, of compassion, and SO much more. His impact on Canadian law and the country will reverberate for generations and beyond.
[1] News Staff, “‘A Canadian Hero’: Tributes pour in for Murray Sinclair,” (4 November 2024) CityNews, online: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/murray-sinclair-death-1.7372862>.
[2] Bryan P Schwartz, “Interview with Murray Sinclair,” (2018) 41:2 Man L Rev 263 at 287.
[3] Ibid at 263.
[4] As captured by the interview with Bryan P Schwartz, published in the Manitoba Law Review in 2018 (see Ibid).
[5] Ibid at 269.
[6] Ibid at 268.
[7] Ibid at 284.
[8] Ibid at 282
[9] Ibid at 283.
[10] Ibid at 285.
[11] Ibid at 286.
[Image] Peter Zimonjic, “Murray Sinclair, former senator who led Truth and Reconciliation Commission, dead at 73,” (4 November 2024) CBC News, online: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/murray-sinclair-death-1.7372862> (photo taken in Ottawa on 26 May 2022 by Justin Tang of The Canadian Press).
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