Murray Sinclair

Early Life and Education

Sinclair was born in 1951 in the Selkirk area, north of Winnipeg, on the former St. Peter’s reserve, to Henry and Florence Sinclair. Florence died of a stroke when Sinclair was still an infant, and he was sent to live with his grandparents, Jim and Catherine Sinclair, who subsequently raised him and his three siblings. A bright student from a young age, Sinclair skipped grades three and seven; in addition, he was the valedictorian and athlete of the year of his high school class at Selkirk Collegiate in 1968.

Following graduation, Sinclair was enrolled at the University of Manitoba for two years, but postponed his degree and returned home to care for his ailing grandmother. There, he began working with the Selkirk Friendship Centre; by 1972, he was the regional vice president for the Manitoba Métis Federation. (See also Friendship Centres.)

In 1973, Howard Pawley, the attorney general of Manitoba, asked Sinclair to be his personal assistant. With his interest now turned towards law, Sinclair applied to the University of Manitoba’s faculty of law, enrolling in 1976. In his second year, he won the A.J. Christie Prize in Civil Litigation, given to students with the highest standing in the Introduction to Advocacy course. He graduated in 1979 and since then has earned several honorary degrees from various Canadian universities, including the University of Ottawa and the University of Winnipeg.

Early Career

Sinclair was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1980 and began practising law. He focused primarily on civil and criminal litigation, Indigenous law and human rights. Over time, he became known for his expertise in the field and his ability to skillfully balance between the Canadian legal system and the traditional teachings of the Ojibwe and other Indigenous peoples. This would earn him admiration in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community. Early on, however, Sinclair struggled to gain the respect he deserved.

In one of his first cases, the judge mistook him for the defendant and asked him what he was charged with. This revelatory incident demonstrated precisely why Sinclair felt he was called to practise law. He believed that Indigenous peoples were being charged disproportionately with minor crimes to fill police quotas. Sinclair’s opinions often drew media attention, with one critique of the justice system producing the headline: “Police Prey on Natives, Lawyer Says.” As his popularity grew, he was offered a position as a judge. He declined the offer twice. Instead, he continued to provide legal counsel to various organizations, including the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (See also Indigenous Peoples in Canadian Law and Justice Systems of Indigenous Peoples in Canada).

Career as Justice

In 1988, at age 37, Sinclair finally accepted the offer to become a judge. As Associate Chief Judge of the Manitoba Provincial Court, he became Manitoba’s first, and Canada’s second, Indigenous judge. In the same year, the Government of Manitoba commissioned the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry. Due in large part to his extensive background working with human rights and Indigenous issues, Sinclair was appointed by his mentor, Howard Pawley, now premier of Manitoba, to be co-commissioner of the inquiry. The inquiry’s 1991 report found that there was systemic racism within Manitoba’s criminal justice system. It made 296 recommendations to reform the justice system, and it caused the Manitoba government to re-examine the way it treated Indigenous peoples.

Sinclair was appointed to head the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Inquiry. Throughout 1994, twelve children died while undergoing cardiac surgery at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre (WHSC). After the WHSC’s Pediatric Surgery Cardiac Surgery Program was suspended in 1995, the parents of the deceased children called for a public inquiry into their deaths. Soon after, the chief medical examiner for the Province of Manitoba ordered an inquest into the deaths. The hearings began at the end of 1995 and continued into 1998. They produced more than 80 witness testimonies and some 50,000 pages of transcripts. In November 2000, Justice Sinclair completed his final report, which concluded that at least 10 of the 12 deaths could have been prevented had there been proper treatment. The report also noted that in most of the cases, the parents were not provided with enough information to allow them to properly provide informed consent to conduct the surgeries.

In January 2001, Sinclair was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, once again becoming the first Indigenous judge at this judicial level.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

In 2007, survivors of Canada’s residential schools reached a settlement with various Christian churches across Canada, as well as the federal government. As a facet of this settlement, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to tell the history of residential schools. These schools had been created as an aspect of federal policy under the Indian Act, which worked to systematically assimilate Indigenous peoples into the broader Canadian culture, and remove them from their traditional and ancestral methods of education and child rearing. Under the policy, children were forbidden to speak Indigenous languages and to practise their traditional faiths. The goal of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was to play an integral role in the healing and reconciliation between Indigenous peoples, the churches and federal government.

First approached in 2007 to chair the commission, Justice Sinclair turned down the opportunity. Having completed the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Inquiry, and aware that both his grandparents and parents were sent to residential schools, Sinclair was worried about the emotionally exhaustive nature of the commission and withdrew his name from the list of possible chairmen.

After minimal success by the three original members of the commission — Justice Harry S. Laforme (chair), Charlotte Dumont-Smith (commissioner) and Jane Brewin Morley (commissioner) — Sinclair was asked again in 2009 to chair. Having felt that the initial commission had done little to ease the survivors’ pain, he accepted the position under one condition: the group would no longer operate from a majority-rule capacity, but rather would function via consensus.

Sinclair instituted additional policy changes, including a relocation of the commission’s headquarters from Ottawa to Winnipeg, a removal of the accountability of the TRC chair to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and the establishment of a relationship with the churches to make sure that they were represented fairly. These changes, along with a lawsuit filed by Sinclair against the Conservative federal government when they failed to provide millions of archival records pertaining to residential schools, helped to demonstrate that he was serious about documenting the stories of the survivors, families and communities affected by residential schools.

By 2015, more than 7,000 former students had testified, and the final report (released 15 December 2015) spanned six volumes and contained over two million words. The report made 94 recommendations to the federal government. It also revealed the systematic abuse by the schools against the children, policies that Sinclair referred to as “cultural genocide.” This included compulsory sterilization and at least 3,200 deaths from disease and malnourishment, although the number is estimated to be much higher. Sinclair himself argued that the number is closer to 6,000 overall. (See also Genocide of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

Career as Senator

In 2016, following his incredible work in human and Indigenous rights throughout his tenure as a justice in Manitoba, Governor General David Johnston appointed Sinclair (on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) to be Manitoba’s senator in Parliament. With his appointment, Sinclair became the nation’s 16th Indigenous senator.

Since his appointment, Sinclair has sat on various Senate Standing Committees, including those on Indigenous peoples, constitutional issues and fisheries and oceans. In 2017, Senator Sinclair was asked to lead an investigation into the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, in light of accusations of systemic racism in the force (See also Police). He remains an outspoken advocate on Indigenous rights issues in the Senate and in public.

In August 2020, Sinclair joined the largest Indigenous law firm in Manitoba, Cochrane Saxberg LLP. While still working as a senator, Sinclair mentored lawyers at Cochrane Saxberg LLP on a variety of issues concerning Indigenous law in Canada.

On 31 January 2021, Sinclair retired from the Senate. He plans to continue his work as a mentor, as well as to write his memoirs.

Community Work and Activism

Sinclair has taught courses in Indigenous law at the University of Manitoba since 1981 and has served on numerous community boards, including the Boy Scouts, John Howard Society, Royal Canadian Air Cadets, Canadian Club, Canadian Native Law Students Association and Board of Regents of the University of Winnipeg.

Sinclair and his wife Katherine (Animiki-quay) Morrisseau-Sinclair have also established Abinochi Zhawayndakozhuwin Inc., an Ojibwe Immersion Nursery School program in Winnipeg, which delivers an entire educational program conducted completely in the Ojibwe language.

Personal Life

Sinclair is a member of the Three Fires Society, a long-standing council of alliances of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi peoples. He and his wife Katherine have five children: Manon Beaudrie (Miskodagaginquay), James (Niigonwedom), Déne (Beendighay-geezhigo-quay), Gazheek (Gazhegwenabeek) and a newly adopted daughter, Jessica. He has three grandchildren: Sarah, Misko and Migizii.

Honours and Awards

Over the course of his long career, Sinclair has been awarded a variety of prestigious honours, including:

• One of the first National Aboriginal Achievement awards (now Indspire) (1994)
• Manitoba Bar Association’s Equality Award (2001)
• Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice’s Medal of Justice (2015
• Manitoba Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award (2016)
• He has also received honorary doctorates from eight Canadian universities, and in 2018, was awarded an honorary LLD from the Law Society of Ontario

On 1 November 2019, Senator Sinclair was awarded the prestigious Symons Medal in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The medal is awarded to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to Canadian life. Prior recipients include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and King Charles III, as well as geneticist, environmental activist and broadcaster David Suzuki.