With the passing of feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, many are reflecting on the indelible legacy she leaves behind including former Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin who reminisced about discussing the Famous 5 with Ginsburg:
"I write in my memoir about a lunch at a restaurant in the Gatineau hills and our talk about the progress of women in Canada," former chief justice Beverley McLachlin recalled in an interview with CBC News Network.
"'What is the history of the progress of women in Canada?' she asked. And I found myself launching into a series of stories, beginning with the Famous Five. Wonderful moments."
Ginsburg was first appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 by then-president Bill Clinton, becoming the court's second female justice. She was embraced by supporters for her defence of the rights of women and minorities, and the strength and resilience she displayed in the face of personal loss and health crises.
Just four years before Ginsburg was appointed, McLachlin had been sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, ascending to the court's top job in 2000 — the first woman to hold the position. McLachlin "drew confidence" from Ginsburg, who she said she first met at a lecture series in Cambridge, England.