Indian-Origin Man First Person of Colour to Be Named for Canada SC

Mahmud Jamal has also taught at two of the most prestigious law universities in the Canada.

Mahmud Jamal, Indian-origin man becomes the first person of colour to be nominated to Canada’s Supreme Court.

(Photo: Twitter/ Mahmud Jamal)

In a first, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday, 17 June, announced the nomination of a person of colour to the Supreme Court.

The nominee, Mahmud Jamal, was born to an Indian family in Nairobi in 1967 and was brought up in Britain before his family migrated to Canada in 1981, as per an AFP report.

Jamal, who has been serving as a litigator for decades, has also taught at two of the most prestigious law universities in the Canada.

He has been serving as an Appeal judge at an Ontario Court since 2019.

"He'll be a valuable asset to the Supreme Court – and that's why, today, I'm announcing his historic nomination to our country's highest court," the Prime Minister said.

Canada is a diversely multicultural nation, with almost a fourth of its population identifiying as a minority.

Jamal, in a job questionnaire, had indicated that his hybrid religious and cultural upbringing, as well as his experiences in Canada have made him cognisant of the challenges faced by immigrants and persons belonging to minority groups.

His wife, too, had immigrated to Canada from Iran in order to evade religious persecution of the Baha'i religious minority during the 1979 revolution.

"Like many others, I experienced discrimination as a fact of daily life. As a child and youth, I was taunted and harassed because of my name, religion or the colour of my skin," Jamal had stated.

The nominee will be screened by the House of Commons justice committee as a formality before the confirmation of his appointment.

(With inputs from AFP.)