“Stay calm, be brave and wait for the signs. Never say never and keep an open mind.”
For the Honourable Marion Buller, one of the most accomplished judges in Canada and Chancellor of the University of Victoria, this has been her life motto, and not only has it served her well, it is great advice.
You might think someone of her stature would be tough, and maybe even a little stern.
After all, her CV reads like the Who’s Who of the legal community: the first Indigenous woman appointed as a Provincial Court Judge in British Columbia in 1994; former President and Director of the Indigenous Bar Association in Canada; the B.C. Police Commission, the Law Courts Education Society and the Law Foundation of British Columbia.
In 2006, Marion initiated the First Nations Courts in British Columbia, and, of course, she served as Chief Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in 2016.
In reality, she is one of the kindest people and her warmth is absolutely welcoming.
Given her relaxed and gentle nature, you might think it all came easy. It didn’t.
“I had to learn many things the hard way. To be honest, being faced with both overt and subtle racism and sexism, I have always lived with having to be better just to be equal.”
Combined with being an overachiever, her dedication to strong values has meant she has been very hard on herself.
Her challenges spilled over into health. A cancer survivor for over 24 years, Marion says that experience made her stronger and more determined to make a difference.
“I never let that define me. I considered the diagnosis a wake-up call to take nothing and no one for granted.”
One of the great things about Marion’s story is that she fell into law entirely by chance.
“I didn’t grow up thinking I wanted to be a lawyer. It never even occurred to me.”
She had been working for a company in Victoria and had risen through the ranks as far as she could without more education. She explored becoming a chartered accountant or pursuing an MBA, but they just were not feasible.
“I had many friends at UVic law, including my first husband, so I wrote the LSAT, was accepted and so law it was.”
Initially, it was to be a path into corporate law but in her first year, a criminal law class and an inspiring professor changed everything.
After reading about cases that were “horrible — I couldn’t believe how Indigenous people were treated by the courts,” she felt she needed to do something.
“It went against everything that the law school was teaching us about equality, equity and human rights.”
She was part of the very first native law course that UVic offered (a far cry from the now vibrant Aboriginal Law program at the Law School) and knew then that Aboriginal Law was her path.
“I was lucky I had mentors who pushed me along, sometimes kicking and screaming, but they did it anyway. In the six years that I practised law I got 12 years of experience.”
Her gratitude to those advisors just underlines her humility. They saw her potential, telling her she had an opportunity to make meaningful change in the Canadian justice system.
“They told me to grasp opportunities as they come up.”
Thanks again to the incessant prodding of one of those mentors, she applied to be a provincial court judge. She was accepted, of course, and focused on criminal law.
“One day I had this amazing man in the courtroom. He was a residential school survivor. The two of us just started talking like two people, and it was like we were alone in the packed courtroom. You could hear a pin drop. We paused for a minute and I said to him, ‘You are someone who should be celebrated, not someone to be harmed again. You’re an important part of Canadian history, I will say it again, we should be celebrating you.’”
“He looked at me like I had hit him. He was shocked. But I walked out a changed person. I said to myself, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I can’t harm my own people anymore.’ When I get into that frame of mind, I get into troublemaking.”
While Marion was born and raised in Toronto, she is Cree and a member of the Mistawasis First Nation in Saskatchewan. Her Indigenous story is not unlike others. Her family lost their status when her grandfather left the reserve but when the laws changed in 1980s, they reconnected and were warmly embraced by her family. “My family history is very much like Canadian history and Indigenous history.”
As for troublemaking? Completely the wrong term. She became an instrument of change.
“I saw how Canadian laws were harming Indigenous people and how I had become part of that harm. As a judge, I have a lot of power, and nobody really can tell me what to do and so that led to starting the First Nations Court in New Westminster off the side of my desk. The court and Crown administration I think collectively rolled their eyes, ‘Oh Judge Buller’ but in October 2006, we had a soft start, and it was very collaborative.”
It grew from there. Her focus on restorative and inclusive justice led to new connections and eventually to the creation of another court, the Aboriginal Family Healing Court in B.C.
And then came the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in 2016.
“Again, it happened by chance. A group of us judges were having lunch and they asked me what I thought about the inquiry. It was the early days when they were putting it together.”
“ I said, ‘They’re doing it all wrong!’ Word got to Ottawa and a couple of weeks later I got a call asking if I could meet with the Minister. Of course, I made some notes in preparation for the dinner but I was in a rush to meet her and forgot my notes. It was funny, but I pulled out a napkin and a sharpie and I wrote and drew out what the inquiry should look like.”
One meeting led to another and eventually the Privy Council offered her the appointment of Chief Commissioner.
She thought they were kidding. (They weren’t.) Not wanting to move from BC, she started the national inquiry in her garage. “We even used our own gmail accounts in those early days.”
By the time the Inquiry closed, there were 120 employees across Canada.
“I just wish we had more time because there’s so many subject areas that we just touched upon. But an elder once said to me this is going to be a marathon not a sprint and he is right. I am very proud of the work we did. We had an incredible team and we dedicated so much of ourselves into this important work.”
Garden of Eden
It is a good thing that back in the 1970s, Marion’s summer job while a student at Carleton University fell through. She decided to visit relatives across Canada and her last stop was Victoria.
“I thought I had landed in the Garden of Eden! Victoria was so beautiful! My relatives were very welcoming.”
She stayed, helped care for her grandmother and transferred to UVic to continue her studies in Anthropology. The rest is history.
Today, when she speaks about law, her face lights up and glows. Her love of her work is palpable and infectious.
It should come as no surprise she was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2022 and awarded two honorary doctorates, (Lakehead University and Thompson River), the Queen’s Jubilee Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UVic Faculty of Social Science and has received many other accolades.
She continues to practice law and as Chancellor of UVic, she has another opportunity to make a difference.
“I am excited about contributing to promoting change at UVic – it is a dynamic, forward-looking university. There is a wonderful opportunity for increasing inclusion and diversity. I am particularly interested in making sure that the University’s land acknowledgment isn’t just empty words.”
There is a genuineness about her. You can almost see goosebumps as she celebrates others.
“I joke and say when I entered a courtroom, people were not happy to see me because they didn’t want to be there, but as Chancellor, people are happy to see me! Convocation ceremonies are amazing.”
She mischievously enjoys photobombing and sharing the students’ joy and excitement.
Her free time is filled with Canadian literature, a love that started as a high school student. Robertson Davies, W.O. Mitchell, Margaret Atwood and now the whole class of Indigenous authors. She has started learning the piano and you will likely see her on the golf course.
While Marion has been incredibly successful in life, she still says her most rewarding accomplishment is her family. “I look at them and I know I had some influence — and I say ‘so why did you turn out so well?’ [The self deprecation is genuine.] They are my greatest pride. I am also grateful to them. I took great inspiration from the women in my family. Actually, my whole family have made me who I am.”
Any bad habits? “Cookies.”
Biggest surprise? “My whole life. Life is an adventure and I live by that. Another thing? I am engaged. At my age, love happens.”
Marion Buller is a treasure for her contributions to making our country a kinder place and one filled with compassion. “I try to live the seven sacred teachings – love, honesty, humility, courage, respect, truth and wisdom. Once in awhile, I come close!” Indeed she does and inspires us along the way.
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Want to listen to an interview with Marion Buller on our new INSPIRED podcast hosted by Michael Forbes and Lisa Marshall? CLICK HERE
I enjoyed this article but was definitely surprised to see the opening comment “Stay calm, be brave and wait for the signs” attributed to Marion Buller. this was the signify phrase from a CBC radio show caked the :Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour” that ran from 1997 to 2000. It was written by Thomas King, who wrote, directed and starred in the show. He was American by birth, is a “self-titled” indigenous person, who has written numerous novels and books of poetry. He moved to Canada, and even was a professor for a short time at the University of Lethbridge (AB)in the 1980s. I would think that A University chancellor should at least give credit to the author of her “slogan” or what ever she may call it. It leads me to wonder if she, like King, was “self-titled” before beginning her studies of indigenous groups