In 2022, the recipient of the inaugural Ontario Women in Law Leadership Rosalie Silberman Abella Award was Professor Kathleen Mahoney, KC.

Professor Mahoney’s extensive qualifications and contributions far surpass our character limit. Among her many accomplishments, Professor Mahoney was the Chief Negotiator for Canada’s Aboriginal peoples claim for cultural genocide against Canada, achieving the largest financial settlement in Canadian history for the mass human rights violations against the indigenous peoples of Canada. She was the primary architect of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and led the negotiations for the historic apology from the Canadian Parliament and from Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.