Supreme Court ruling says 'a woman' was 'problematic' and 'unfortunate' term
A lower court ruling referring to an alleged victim as a “woman” was a “problematic” term, according to Supreme Court of Canada Justice Sheilah Martin. Instead, the justice suggested “person with a vagina” was more appropriate, the National Post reports.
In her review of a Court of Appeal decision stemming from a 2017 sexual assault case in British Columbia, Justice Martin wrote how the trial judge's use of “a woman” was “unfortunate and engendered confusion.”
None of those involved in the case were identified as transgender.
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Instead, Martin replaced “woman” with a more expansive term: “person with a vagina.”
Despite the chastising from the Supreme Court over a failure to comply with woke language, the trial judge still came to the correct conclusion, found Martin.
“[T]he judge’s conclusion was grounded in his assessment of the complainant’s testimony,” she wrote. “The Court of Appeal erred in finding otherwise.”
Martin, 67, has been sitting on the Supreme Court since 2017, having been appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. First starting her career as a judge in 2005, Martin previously sat on the Court of Appeal in Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
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“I have dedicated much of my life to various forms and types of education: often on equality and diversity, but also spanning many diverse subject areas,” she said upon her appointment, CBC reported.
“She said her early upbringing in Montreal helped shape her commitment to issues of diversity and equality,” the state broadcaster noted in 2017.
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