Jody Wilson-Raybould

Is Jody Wilson-Raybold’s title for her political memoir a riff on the popular children’s book Indian in the Cupboard? It’s certainly reminiscent. The young owner of the cupboard is shocked when “his Indian” turns out to have opinions and take actions not directed by the master. Trudeau of course had (besides the disobedient “Indian”) the additional problem of preserving plausible deniability, so the analogy goes only so far.

JWR portrays herself as surprisingly ingenuous, show more accepting Justin Trudeau at his own estimation and never questioning the fitness of a second-rate high school drama teacher to govern Canada. I suppose that the vision of hope dangled before her by the liberals was so enticing that she suspended disbelief. I’d feel less astonished by a keen legal mind deciding that the possible gains were worth the risk of betrayal (on the whole, this was probably the case).

Before I read the book, I felt great respect for the author’s integrity and courage. This didn’t change. I gained the impression that she must have been extremely difficult to work with, although I can sympathize with her frustration about the limitations of the Liberals’ procedures (such as strictly controlled access to the PM—even the Attorney General couldn’t contact the PM without humbly begging his subordinates to arrange an audience) and applaud her ingenuity in devising work-arounds (she became infamous for pressing memos into Justin’s hand upon every occasion).

This is an insightful book and casts a lot of light on the shortcomings of the Canadian political system. Trudeau has demonstrated over and over that ethical standards in Canada’s government are easy to flout and consequences are few. JWR has suggestions for improvement. show less

Having read a number of books about reconciliation (in the Canadian/Indigenous context), True Reconciliation tops the list of titles I would recommend on the subject. Wilson-Raybould presents a reconciliation framework of learning, understanding, and acting. Learning material is presented in an 'oral' history format to which the reader is called to be witness. Understanding digests the learning into two 'tracks.' Track one is comprised of socio-economic issues and track two focuses on show more Indigenous rights (the lack of which being root cause of track one). Understanding is fundamental to acting, and acting (described as a marathon, not a sprint) is broken into three sub groups which challenge (ourselves and others), elevate (shared understanding of the historic and current reality of Indigenous Peoples in Canada) and advance (iterative future-focused relationship building between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples). True Reconciliation is an excellent resource that deserves to be widely read. -rs show less

Having read a number of books about reconciliation (in the Canadian/Indigenous context), True Reconciliation tops the list of titles I would recommend on the subject. Wilson-Raybould presents a reconciliation framework of learning, understanding, and acting. Learning material is presented in an 'oral' history format to which the reader is called to be witness. Understanding digests the learning into two 'tracks.' Track one is comprised of socio-economic issues and track two focuses on show more Indigenous rights (the lack of which being root cause of track one). Understanding is fundamental to acting, and acting (described as a marathon, not a sprint) is broken into three sub groups which challenge (ourselves and others), elevate (shared understanding of the historic and current reality of Indigenous Peoples in Canada) and advance (iterative future-focused relationship building between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples). True Reconciliation is an excellent resource that deserves to be widely read. -rs show less

An outstanding, candid analysis of what goes on behind the scenes in the Canadian government under the sitting prime minister and insights into the control by unelected staff in the PMO ~ the cover ups, the corruption, the discrimination and the spin doctor's stories, notwithstanding.

It was an emotionally difficult book to read, especially during the recent self-serving call for an election during a pandemic, especially when 2 years remained in the mandate. Ms. Wilson-Raybould was an show more accomplished, ethical MP and unjustly subject to the most appalling harassment and ousted for standing up to lies and corruption in the highest office of the land. Here was a situation every qualified voter should take into account when voting in the next Federal election. show less