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The Accomplishments of Bertha Wilson

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Bertha Wilson was a remarkable woman who changed the face of the Supreme Court of Canada forever. She was the first woman appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the first female partner in a major law firm. Even though she wasn’t a Chief Justice, it was a huge accomplishment for a woman to be a Puisne Justice. Bertha Wilson was chosen for my Heritage Fair topic because Bertha worked hard even when she knew that no woman had been where she had been before. This essay will explain different times in Bertha’s life and how she made her mark in the books of Great Canadian Women.
Bertha Wilson was born to Archibald and Christina Noble Wernham on September 18th 1923 in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Bertha was the youngest of two boys and one girl. Bertha knew her father as a gentle and devout man. She remembered her mother as a stern, but gentle woman who believed that females were to have the same things as males, including a well education. Her mother was sure to have all three children groomed and well fed at all times. The Wernham’s moved to Aberdeen( a two hour drive from Kirkcaldy) when Bertha was three years old so she doesn’t have many memories of her time on Kirkcaldy. In Aberdeen, Bertha became very fond of the boy across the street, Jackie. Jackie was the youngest of three children as well. One of Bertha’s and Jackie’s favourite activities was to play with hoops, or gird sticks as they called them in Scotland. One day Jackie saw that Bertha

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