FEATURED FELLOW: BRANDON PARDY
Brandon Pardy says he became politically aware around the age of eight, talking about local issues with his Inuk father at home in Cartwright, a remote Labrador community. He has since dedicated his career to Indigenous and northern issues, recently taking on the role of vice-president of operations at the Indigenous Peoples’ Commission, while working at the Conference Board of Canada and as legislative assistant to Yvonne Jones, Liberal MP for Labrador and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Here, he discusses making Indigenous voices heard, reconciliation and the Canada 150 celebrations. It’s important to me because it’s where I come from. Growing up, not many people knew about Labrador — they still don’t, especially the area I come from. Even in our own province, people don’t really know about our community. (When I went to university, I was actually asked if I grew up in an igloo.) We have so much to offer. Over the last decade, there’s been more and more focus on Arctic sovereignty and statements about how the North is Canada’s identity. But it’s not really, I think, because most Canadians don’t know that much about it. It’s not up to governments to reconcile, but rather to set the path for Canadians to reconcile. If we leave it up to governments, then we might as well leave it to chiefs and tribal councils and Inuit leaders to do the reconciliation on our behalf. These issues happened over hundreds of years, and it’s going to take hundreds of years to rectify — or at least three or four generations. I’ve never seen Canadians this interested and willing to discuss and resolve issues in Indigenous communities. Of course, not everyone is interested, but it’s definitely the most engaged Canada has ever been on this issue. I know many Indigenous people are not happy with the Canada 150 celebrations and the inclusion of reconciliation as one of the main themes. I can see where they’re coming from: it’s yet again tacking the Indigenous thing onto an event that doesn’t really have anything to do with us. On the flip side, however, at least we’re having conversations. You’ve got to start somewhere. This is an opportunity to bring Indigenous cultures, which are the threads of the Canadian fabric that bind us all (à la John Ralston Saul) right to the forefront. We should as Indigenous people, waste an opportunity to engage in a positive conversation about the negative past — and for sure never miss a chance to showcase ourselves, our contributions and what we have to offer Canada and the world.