Jody Wilson-Raybould
JESSICA dEEKS
FActoID
Prime ministers Chrétien, Campbell, turner and Pierre elliott trudeau served as federal justice minister
I
n 1983, B.C. First Nations
leader Bill Wilson told
Prime Minister Pierre
Elliott Trudeau that his
two daughters, 14 and 12, both
wanted to be prime minister.
Everyone laughed. Yet more
than 30 years later, Wilson's
younger daughter is now federal
justice minister—historically a
prominent stepping stone for
those seeking Canada's high-
est office (including the elder
Trudeau). As the first aboriginal
justice minister, Jody Wilson-
Raybould, 44, has an enormous
opportunity to advance the
cause of justice for Canada's
indigenous people. However,
after a stellar career, including
time as a crown prosecutor, B.C.
treaty commissioner and elected
regional chief of the Assembly
of First Nations, that's just one
of many issues facing the novice
member of Parliament for
Vancouver-Granville.
What were your thoughts as
you were sworn in as justice
minister?
It was an absolutely unpre-
cedented day in my life and
for many others, including my
mother, who was watching at
home in my home community
of Cape Mudge. I was over-
whelmed. I felt a great sense of
pride and honour at the tremen-
dous portfolio the prime minister
entrusted to me, and an incred-
ible feeling of hope and optimism
about what we as a government
can achieve. It seems to be a
turning point in history.
T h e C o n v e r s a t i o n
You've talked about improv-
ing matters for Canada's
aboriginal people. What can
you do as justice minister?
Well, it's broader than just the
justice department. Relation-
ships with indigenous peoples
of Canada are of paramount
importance, and we are
committed to a renewed
relationship that is nation-
to-nation—that recognizes
that solutions to one of the
outstanding public policy
issues in this country
need to be addressed in a
substantive way.
But as a former prosecu-
tor, you must have some
idea of specific changes
needed to do a better job
for aboriginal people.
Yes, I was a prosecutor at the
Main Street courthouse and
witnessed first-hand the over-
representation of indigenous
people in the system. I am
committed to reviewing our
litigation strategy and looking
at the criminal justice system
to ensure our approach is both
fair and equal, while recogniz-
ing there are many reasons why
people end up in the criminal
justice system. We need to look
at issues of marginalization,
issues of poverty and inequal-
ity. We need to look at substan-
tively different approaches,
including restorative justice
and rehabilitation, and ways
and means to reduce that
dreadful statistic [of aboriginal
incarceration].
A novice MP gets a plum role in the new Trudeau government, with responsibility
for reshaping First Nations relations and legalizing pot by Rod Mickleburgh
1.5%
of B.C. lawyers
are first nations
4.6%
of B.C.'s
population is
first nations
23%
of federal
prisoners are
first nations
SOURCE: LAW SOCIETY
OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
JANUARY 2016 BCBusiness 17
