Jody Wilson-Raybould says substantive action must follow symbolism on path toward reconciliation
CBC
Jody Wilson-Raybould said she's well aware of the importance of symbolism as Canada marks its first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
But while the former justice minister and attorney general agreed the first statutory holiday to reflect on the painful legacy of the residential school system is "incredibly important," she said that symbols and words alone will not be enough to push forward true reconciliation.
"It's one thing to see flags being flown at half mast or taking a knee and, you know, recognizing the tragedies that we have across the country in terms of the history of residential schools," Wilson-Raybould told The Current's Matt Galloway.
"Those symbols are important. But when we speak words, speak rhetoric, or just take symbolic stances and not translate those into actions, that's hugely problematic and the country suffers for it."
Wilson-Raybould resigned from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet in 2019, saying she was pressured by senior party leaders and Trudeau himself to intervene in the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, which was facing bribery charges related to contracts in Libya.
She was removed from the Liberal caucus but retained her seat in Vancouver-Granville during the 2019 election as an Independent MP. She chose not to run in 2021.
Wilson-Raybould lays out the myriad details of the SNC Lavalin affair, and her experiences as a cabinet minister, in her memoir, Indian in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power.
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