TORONTO — A memoir by the Supreme Court of Canada’s first female chief justice is among the titles nominated for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
Beverley McLachlin, who served as chief justice from 2000 to 2017, is among five finalists vying for the $25,000 award honouring a literary non-fiction book on politics.
McLachlin is shortlisted for her behind-the-scenes look at the machinations of Canada’s top court in “Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and the Law.”
Also among the nominees are fellow legal writers Kent Roach for “Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice: The Gerald Stanley and Colten Boushie Case,” and former Crown prosecutor Harold R. Johnson for “Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada.”
The short list also features foreign policy reads including Canadian Forces College professor Adam Chapnick’s “Canada on the United Nations Security Council: A Small Power on a Large Stage” and journalist Jonathan Manthorpe’s “Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada.”
The Writers’ Trust of Canada will name the winner on Sept. 23 at a digital edition of its Politics and Pen Gala. Each finalist receives $2,500.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2020.
The Canadian Press
