Canada 150 Women_Conversations with Leaders, Champions, and Luminaries

by Paulina Cameron

  What does success mean to you?

  Doing what you love really well, earning a good living doing it, and feeling valued.

  Outside of Canada, what is your favourite museum?

  The Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Totally engaging experience for a spy novel/movie geek.

  If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?

  “Integrity.”

  Jeanne Beker

  “You can have it all, but maybe not all at once.”

  Birthplace Toronto, ON

  What age do you feel Ageless

  Occupation Woman of the world. Journalist, style editor, author, speaker.

  Favourite drink Vodka martini, straight up with an olive

  If you could have dinner with any woman, alive or dead, who would it be?

  I would have dinner with my late mother because I lost her in May 2015. Two weeks after she died, I met the love of my life. I’d like to have dinner with her and tell her how wildly happy I am.

  How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?

  I never really considered myself a staunch feminist—like a flag-waving, card-carrying member of that club—though I certainly tried to live my life with those values. I decided to “take the bull by the horns” and go where few women had dared go before in terms of my career. I tried to teach my kids to be strong, independent thinkers and great individuals with a deep sense of themselves. Some might say I succumbed to the system because I went back to work two weeks after both my children were born. I believe you can do it all and it’s not easy. You can have it all, but maybe not all at once.

  What advice would you give to young women considering a similar career?

  You have to think outside the box and you have to be an original. You must blaze your own trails. What I stress is that you need to have a point of view. That’s what is going to differentiate you.

  Is there anything you would have done differently when you were starting out?

  I might have moved away for a while to get a better, bigger, quicker experience (maybe), but I really had a chance to do a lot in this country. Back in the day I fought and continue to fight long and hard to get credibility in international circles. It’s important to cultivate personal relationships with international luminaries. Even with the internet, it’s hard to do it if you never venture outside of Canada for great lengths of time. I still think it would be a great experience to go and live in New York for a couple of years or LA or Paris or London.

  How do you make courageous decisions?

  All the decisions every step of the way really shape who you are. You have to have the courage of your convictions and you have to really believe in yourself and know that ultimately there are no right or wrong decisions. The old adage is true: “It’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey.” We’re all on different paths and there are lots of different ways to get to different places. Sometimes you end up in a place you never even dreamed of being, yet it feels so good and it feels so right. You can’t be married to the outcome of any situation. There are different ways to get what you’re ultimately after.

  What has been a defining moment in your personal or professional life?

  Moving to Newfoundland in 1975 and being the only Paris-trained mime artist and realizing that I wasn’t going to get work as a mime. I ended up knocking on the door of CBC Radio, and serendipitously there was a new producer who wanted to try something new. Not to put a mime on the radio, but to put someone on who knew about the arts, was willing to talk about the arts, write about the arts, and interview people who were in the arts, given that there was such a vibrant arts scene going on at that moment.

  What message would you put on a billboard, and where?

  “Don’t be afraid and never give up.” I would put it on the Internet, since I’m always putting my message out there in my writing and in my public speaking.

  What does being Canadian mean to you?

  Being Canadian means, first and foremost, being grounded. This country grounds me and this country is about important values starting with community. We’re a gentler, kinder people. Canada means eclecticism and diversity, but it also means unity in a wonderful way. It means clean air, but it also means sophistication. It’s a country where you can hear yourself. You can often see the forest for the trees if you just allow yourself to be still and be mindful.

  If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?

  “Tenacity.”

  Cindy Blackstock

  “Canada’s best traits are the people and the environment. We need to take better care of both.”

  Birthplace Burns Lake, BC

  What age do you feel Old enough to be comfortable in who I am and young enough to dream

  Occupation Professor at McGill School of Social Work and executive director at the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada

  Book you gift most A National Crime by John Milloy

  Favourite drink Diet Coke

  Favourite place in Canada Vancouver

  If you could have dinner with any woman, alive or dead, who would it be?

  My mom, who inspires me every day, and Alanis Obomsawin, who is a legend in filmmaking and elegant activism.

  What is your vision for Canada in twenty years?

  A place where First Nations children do not have to grow up to recover from their childhoods, and where non-Indigenous children do not have to grow up to say they are sorry.

  How would you define feminism?

  I believe feminism is being confident in who you are and not building bars around your dreams. As for the structural barriers—I do not give them any power.

  What does being Canadian mean to you?

  There is the Canada that people admire and then there is the one First Nations children live with. The country will only truly be great once it frees itself from the chains of racial discrimination as fiscal policy toward Indigenous peoples.

  Where do you feel most powerful?

  It is not power I am after; it is authority. Power is asserted. Authority is given and earned through respectful role modelling and conduct.

  What message would you put on a billboard?

  “What if the Government of Canada gave your child less than all others? It happens to First Nations children every day. You can help: fncaringsociety.com.”

  Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.

  I came to understand that I could not live an honourable life without respecting fundamental human values of respect, fairness, justice, and truth, so I defined those values for myself and developed the moral courage to defend them. The great thing about living by values is that no one can take them away from you—only you can give them away and I don’t plan on doing that.

  What has become more important and less important to you in the last few years?

  More important: ensuring Canada obeys four legal orders to stop discriminating against First Nations children, youth, and their families. Less important: accepting Canada’s excuses for not complying.

  What will it take to achieve gender parity?

  Raise confident children—it is only the insecure who try to hold others down—and denormalize and address structural barriers diminishing potential (such as pay inequity, insufficient child and elder care, etc.).

  What does Canada need more and less of?

  More active citizenship that engages every person in upholding values of fairness, equity, justice, and respect. Less passivity and blind patriotism.

  What does success mean to you?

  Standing up for kids when it matters. That is our most important role as adults. Raise a healthy generation of Indigenous children and non-Indigenous children, and the world will be a better place.

  What is the best investment you’ve made?

  The kids—spending time with them and showing them they matter.

  If you had the gift of a year off, in a paused world, what problem woul
d you try to solve?

  The one I, in the company of others, am already working on: eliminating discriminatory inequities in federal funding for First Nations children’s services.

  What are the characteristics of the people you keep closest?

  Loving, generous, wise, creative, and courageous.

  Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently when you were first starting out?

  Stopped worrying so much about what other people thought—just be me.

  Rose Boyko

  “I am a descendant of Mack Toodick, member of the McLeod Lake Indian Band, Treaty 8. I think Grandpa Toodick would have been proud of me.”

  Birthplace Finlay Forks, BC

  What age do you feel 45

  Occupation Former nurse, lawyer, Superior Court of Ontario justice, judge of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal

  Book you gift most Food Is Your Best Medicine by Henry Bieler

  Favourite drink Water

  Favourite place in Canada Saskatoon

  How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?

  Early feminism was about breaking down barriers. When I broke down a barrier becoming the first Aboriginal woman on my bench, I discovered another barrier was the need for women judges to learn how to support each other as women in the same way men have learned to support men.

  What will it take to achieve gender parity?

  Women must support other women. We still need targets for more women on the bench, on corporate boards, etc. Finding time to be with one another and listening to one another and sharing experiences and being supportive when someone feels that they’ve encountered difficulties. Being available to other women who may need another to turn to.

  What advice would you give for young women considering a similar career?

  Be yourself, know yourself, and know that you can contribute enormously by being who you are. Too often, we feel we have to fit into the mould of an image that we have, and if that image is not a living image that comes from within yourself, then it rings a bit hollow.

  Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently when you were first starting out?

  Having had a fulfilling career as a lawyer and a judge, I may have gone directly into law school rather than going into nursing first.

  What has been a defining moment in your personal or professional life?

  Everything changed for me when I started school at age seven and a half, and learned to read. My love of reading opened up a world of new possibilities and eventually higher education.

  If you had the gift of a year off, in a paused world, what would you work on?

  I had a sabbatical during which I obtained an LL.M. specializing in alternative dispute resolution. I would use my year to conduct healing circles to resolve criminal justice cases in a more productive and successful way.

  If you could have dinner with any woman, alive or dead, who would it be?

  Pauline Johnson. I love her poetry, her portrayal of proud, regal Indigenous people.

  What is your vision for Canada in twenty years?

  A country that celebrates, respects, and really hears its Indigenous peoples. All cultures have sacred ceremonies. In Ontario, there is an annual red mass put on by the Thomas Moore society with an open invitation to the judiciary, lawyers, and the public. We will know that we have moved with meaning to reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples when this mass includes aspects of sacred Indigenous ceremonies that express traditional indigenous values of truth and respect for one another.

  What gives you courage?

  My faith in help and guidance from the spiritual world.

  What message would you put up on a billboard?

  “Try Despite All Odds.” With an image of a person standing on one shore looking across the river to the other shore.

  Barbara Brink

  “Success is waking up with hope and enthusiasm.”

  Birthplace St. Andrews, Scotland

  What age do you feel Young

  Occupation Management consultant specializing in strategic planning and governance

  Favourite drink White wine

  Favourite place in Canada Tofino, BC

  What will it take to achieve gender parity?

  Two things: continued willingness to ask the questions and continued willingness to listen. That goes for both sides of the discussion. Some of the questions we need are, “Why isn’t there gender parity? Why aren’t there equal opportunities? Why isn’t there equal pay?”

  What message would you put on a billboard?

  “Greatness is achieved through service to your community, so see the future, engage your mind, and lead with your heart.”

  Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.

  I founded Science World and it opened in 1989 to much fanfare and great hopes. It had taken us ten years to put it all together. Then a few years after it opened, I got a call from the chair of the board and he said, “Barbara, we’re really in trouble. Will you come back and act as CEO?”

  I could have fallen on the floor at that point because we had certainly left it in a very healthy state. For whatever reason, the funding and the budget weren’t doing well; they were all haywire. Attendance was low, and most importantly, the morale of the staff was very poor. I came on as interim CEO, along with one other person who had been one of my vice-chairs. I probably have never worked harder in my life. Every skill I had learned in the not-for-profit sector was completely applicable to what we had to do in those ten months, whether it was strategic planning, employment inequity, or communications. It took a lot of courage because I felt that having galvanized the community to support a science centre, if anybody was going to close it, I would have to make that decision. I’m pretty hard-nosed. I thought that at the end of the year I was going to say, “This isn’t working and it needs to be closed, rather than being a drain on the public purse.” But now it’s incredibly successful.

  What are Canada’s best traits?

  Our geographic differences make us a very interesting and exciting country. Alternate ways of looking at issues leads to stronger decisions.

  What is the best investment you’ve made?

  My community. It is a two-way street. You start volunteering as a way of giving back, but in the end what you gain is extraordinary. That network is a great gift.

  Judy Brooks

  “Every event serves a purpose in growth and learning—it just might not be what you envisioned.”

  Birthplace Nanaimo, BC

  Occupation My purpose is to mentor, champion, and support. I get paid to advise, consult, push people to have transparent and bold conversations.

  Favourite drink 1 perfect cup of coffee in the morning, a cold beer at the end of the day

  What is your favourite place in Canada?

  Give me a tidal pool in Tofino, an Alpine trail at Whistler, a music festival in Montreal, Queen West in Toronto, or the moment when you touch down in Vancouver and smell that air. That air! My favourite is often the now.

  Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.

  Resilience has been a major player in my life. I was on my own for the last year of high school, finishing school and working as a cocktail server—illegal but true. I would finish at midnight and go to class the next day. Now I look back and think, “How did I not screw up (more)?” Being a young mom with a partner who was working through major stuff, then being a single mom, and starting my first company required fortitude that I did not consider at the time. Upon reflection, the thing that took the most strength was doing something that went against every instinct I had. After my twenty-year-old daughter Devon was assaulted while living in London, she asked me to wait to go to see her. She needed to know she was okay by herself. I waited a week. Every hour was like a year. My body and heart ached to be there. We talked on the phone incessantly, but I wanted to see her. I waited. She was right (she often is). It was th
e right thing to do for her, though the hardest thing for me.

  What is your vision for Canada in twenty years?

  That we consider more depth and breadth in our economy; we make it easier for small business to prosper; we look at innovative living solutions; we both protect and continue to capitalize on the natural beauty of our great country.

  What will it take to achieve gender parity?

  The same thing it will take for racial parity, or acceptance of any differences: the understanding that we do not always have to agree, but we do need to be curious. Knowing that just because you may not feel the effects directly does not mean inequity or marginalization does not exist. That is a narrow view. When it exists anywhere in the world, it is nearly at your doorstep.

  What does being Canadian mean to you?

  Ease—an ease of living. Freedom, diversity, honour.

  Manon Brouillette

  “Trust yourself, remain authentic, persevere, seize opportunities, and show resilience.”

  Birthplace Trois-Rivières, QC

  What age do you feel My own

  Occupation President and CEO, Videotron

  Book you gift most The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

  Favourite drink My morning latte

  Favourite place in Canada Montreal