Jody Wilson-Raybould speaks to about 400 community members in the Westerner Park Harvest Centre on Oct. 23, 2024. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

"WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY"

Jody Wilson-Raybould speaks on truth and reconciliation and partisanship in RDP series

Oct 24, 2024 | 12:34 PM

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, the first Indigenous person to serve as minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, shared a moving speech about leadership and truth and reconciliation to about 400 community members at Westerner Park in Red Deer Oct. 23.

Her speech makes her the 31st speaker of Red Deer Polytechnic’s (RDP) Perspectives series, which offers students and the community a chance to hear diverse perspectives from well-known speakers they otherwise likely wouldn’t have a chance to engage with.

Anah Samuelson, a member of the Perspectives planning committee and English instructor at RDP, said Wilson-Raybould is a dream fit for the series as her womanhood and Indigenous identity have made her a first timer in many of the different roles she’s taken on.

“Getting that kind of experience is so unique.She is bringing a very unique set of experiences with her that we can learn from,” Samuelson said. “She’s someone that’s working in between all of these silos, so I think as well, she’s able to give us a broader perspective in that way.”

Samuelson refers to sentiments Wilson-Raybould shared in her speech around the siloing of Indigenous and non-Indigenous stories, which she said becomes replicated in society and prompts us to act on assumptions rather than understanding.

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Wilson-Raybould said that in order to truly make progress in truth and reconciliation, those silos need to be broken down by “in-betweeners” like herself, community leaders and individuals who navigate these separate circles and try to bridge the divide.

“I challenge you all to be in-betweeners,” she said. “We are in a time that demands relentless effort… to demand a more just, inclusive, and compassionate society… we all have a role to guide the path forward.”

She shared that relentlessness is a critical characteristic of Indigenous peoples, and something she has carried with her through her time both as a member of parliament under the Liberal party, and as an independent MP.

RDP president Stuart Cullum said he hopes that attendees take her sentiment about the need for in-betweeners to heart.

“Certainly, Red Deer Polytechnic is on a journey to supporting the Indigenous communities, and so we have a commitment towards truth and reconciliation. It’s a great challenge to us as an institution, but also to our students and to everyone in in the audience that we have a role to play in understanding each other and working to create common ground as we support truth and reconciliation,” he said.

Reflecting on her time in cabinet as minister of veteran affairs and associate minister of national defense, among other roles she held there, Wilson-Raybould also spoke to the importance of staying true to yourself as a leader and not giving in to the “corrosive” partisanship we see in Parliament today.

“Excessive partisanship is, in my view, antithetical and corrosive to true leadership,” she said. “It doesn’t demand relentlessness, rather it demands passiveness.” She added, “In our politics, [statements] are not judged by merit or value, they are judged by who said them.”

After her speech, she took questions from the audience, including an emotional exchange with a woman about the importance of maintaining hope and continuing to push forward in their work with a relentless spirit.

The Perspectives series has been running since 2002 and offers students at RDP a free afternoon presentation with a renowned guest speaker, followed by a paid event in the evening for community members. All proceeds raised on top of the series’ expenses go to a scholarship fund that has provided aid to about 40 RDP students so far.

Prior to politics, Jody Wilson-Raybould was a provincial crown prosecutor in Vancouver and was elected B.C. Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, a role she held until 2015, when she was elected as an MP for Vancouver Granville. She was then appointed the roles of minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, then became minster of veteran affairs and associate minister of national defence until she resigned from the federal cabinet in 2019. In the 2019 election, she was re-elected as an independent MP for Vancouver Granville, making her the first female independent MP elected and the only independent MP elected in the 43rd Parliament.

She is a descendant of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples and a member of the We Wai Kai Nation with her traditional name, Puglaas, meaning “woman born to noble people.” She served as an elected councillor for her Nation and was a director and chair of the First Nations Finance Authority and director of the First Nations Lands Advisory Board.

She is also an author of three books, with one more slated to publish this fall.