Canadian Lawyer

26 M A R C H 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m as no surprise to those closest to her, who paint a picture of someone fearless and adventurous — even as a young child. Lawyer Kory Wilson, who recently became executive director of aboriginal initiatives and partnerships for the British Columbia Institute of Technology, says her younger sister was sometimes a bit too fear- less. "I remember one time in Victoria there was an abandoned house and there was a bee's nest. As soon as I saw it, I ran away, but she went to investigate and see if there were actually bees in there. I was quite a dis- tance away when, of course, all of the bees came out of the nest and they were stinging her and she was running towards me. She has had stitches — I have never had any stitches. So she has always just gone for it." Her father, hereditary chief Bill Wilson, describes Wilson-Raybould as a smart and adventurous child. "Kory would be sitting under a tree reading and Jody would be up in the tree dropping apples on her or else she would be trying to fly off the roof or trying to do something silly," he says. Wilson-Raybould admits she didn't shy away from adventure. "I have to say that I was a curious kid and I got in trouble from time to time. But I had a great upbringing. I was exposed to many things — both in the political world through my father and my grandmother and beyond, but was given tremendous opportunities to explore and to be exposed to many different people beyond the small community where I grew up in." She was born in Vancouver where her father was studying law at the University of British Columbia and became only the second aboriginal student to graduate from the law school. She comes from the Musga- magw-Tsawataineuk/Laich-Kwil-Tach peo- ple of Northern Vancouver Island. Much of her childhood was spent in Cape Mudge on Quadra Island and in Comox, where her grandmother Ethel Pearson, known as Pugladee, was the matriarch of their Eagle clan. It was there, often over tea and home- made bread on her grandmother's porch or attending a meeting with her outspoken, political father, that she learned about the culture and the values of her people. "I worshipped my dad when I was young and had the opportunities to travel with him," Wilson-Raybould recalls. "He instilled in me, as did my grandmother, the values that I carry to this day in terms of knowing who I am and understanding my culture and the laws of our Big House, which is our system of government, and ensuring that I never forget where I come from. For me those teachings have enabled . . . me to harness the opportunities to ensure that not only do I do my part to create the space for indigenous people and others generally to improve their quality of life [but] to recognize that everybody plays a role in the community." When she was five, her grandmother held a naming potlatch and gave Wilson- Raybould the name Puglaas, which means "a woman born to noble people." (Her Twit- ter account is @puglaas). In her clan, she is a Hiligaxste', a role that translates as one who "corrects the chiefs path" — perhaps an apt role for Canada's new attorney general. Bill Wilson credits his first wife, Sandra, with raising their daughters after the two divorced. "They were basically raised by a single mother and I was travelling the country. I was an Indian politician at a very young age and I was very seldom around." Only 14 months apart, Wilson- Raybould and her sister were very close growing up and remain so. They were on the same swimming and track and field teams. They graduated law school together in 1999. Kory Wilson says her sister is smart, practical, and a good judge of char- acter — qualities that will serve her well as justice minister. "She's not swayed by emo- tion. She has been attacked in many differ- ent ways by people and she carries herself with class. She keeps on the high road, if you will. She's tenacious. She doesn't rattle. Methodical. Thorough. You see a problem and either put it into [an]action plan or you keep dwelling on the problem, but she'll come up with an action plan," she says. "She is an incredibly hard worker. The only thing I would like to see is to make sure she takes a little more personal time and looks after herself as well because she has a tendency to just jump in both feet first. I don't mean that in the sense that she doesn't look to where she's jumping, but she's all in, she's all in with everything that she does." Their upbringing will also influence how she approaches her new job, Kory Wilson predicts. "We were raised to make a difference and to make use of the skills that we have. The creator has given us certain skills and opportunities and we have to make sure that we give back and use them in a way to make life better for people and for aboriginal people." Wilson-Raybould says it was always pre- sumed when she was growing up that she would play a leadership role in the com- munity. "That wasn't necessarily taking an elected leadership role. I was taught that leadership comes in many forms and that each person in a community has a role to play, and if you're inhibited from playing that role then the community suffers." In 1983, when she was only 12, her father, who was negotiating at a confer- ence to convince the federal government to include an aboriginal rights section in the 1982 Constitutional Act, announced to then prime minister Pierre Trudeau that his daughters wanted to be lawyers — and prime minister. "I have two children in Vancouver Island, both of whom for some misguided reason say they want to be a lawyer," he said in the video of the exchange that resurfaced after Wilson-Raybould was named to cabinet. "Both of whom want to be the prime minister. Both of whom, prime minister, are women." In response, Trudeau "I was taught that leadership comes in many forms and that each person in a community has a role to play, and if you're inhibited from playing that role then the community suffers." Jody Wilson-Raybould

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