NOVEMBER 4, 2015

KWAKIUTL PUGLASS [JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD (JWR)] BECOMES CANADA’S FIRST INDIGENOUS MINISTER OF JUSTICE (MJ) AND ATTORNEY GENERAL (AG)

Born March 23, 1971, in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), her name means “Woman with integrity.” After a Bachelor’s Degree [University of Victoria (1996)] & Law Degree [University of BC (1999)], JWR was a BC prosecutor (2000-3); Regional Chief, Assembly of First Nations (2009-15); and Member, BC Treaty Commission (2003-9). Elected to Parliament (2015), and named Canada’s 1^st Indigenous MJ & AG, she focused on medical assistance in dying, legalizing cannabis, judiciary diversity, and Indigenous rights. In 2019, moved to Minister of Veterans (likely after criticizing the pace of Indigenous reconciliation efforts), she resigned after it surfaced that the Prime Minister’s office pressured her as AG to settle a corporate bribery case. Awards include: Indigenous Women in Leadership Award (2017); Newsmaker of the Year, The Canadian Press (2019); and Order of BC (2022). JWR has published: From Where I Stand (2019), Indian in the Cabinet (2021), and True Reconciliation: How to Be a Force for Change (2022).

Source:  Heather Conn, “Jodi Wilson-Raybould,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 3/8/2019.  Retrieved 4/26/2022, Jody Wilson-Raybould | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Rochelle Baker, “Jody Wilson-Raybould awarded Order of B.C. for being ‘a force for change,’” Canada's National Observer, 8/4/2022.  Retrieved 9/27/2022, Jody Wilson-Raybould awarded Order of B.C. for being ‘a force for change’ | Canada's National Observer: News & Analysis
Photo:  Erich Saide, 1/30/2014. Permissive Use.