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Hamilton Spectator

Marie Wilson in Sydney to speak about new book

Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson will be in Sydney on Tuesday as part of her Maritime book launch tour. She will speak publicly both in Membertou during the afternoon and at the Eltuek Arts Centre in the evening. Wilson is a Canadian journalist and public administrator who served as one of three commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. In 2009, she became the lone non-Indigenous commissioner on the commission. She has just released a book based on her experience serving as a Commissioner called 'North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner' (Strong Nations Publishing, Nanaimo, BC 2024). Impressive credentials She came to the position with impressive credentials. In 1982, Wilson was the first host of Focus North, a CBC news program. She researched, reported, wrote and hosted the broadcasts. Her stories educated the public on Canadian cultural and political issues from a northern point of view and both celebrated and supported diverse northern cultures and their struggle for Indigenous rights across the country. In 1995, Wilson created the North's first daily television news service that was reported in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. She continued to hire, train and support Indigenous staff and on-air personalities. In 2009, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's mandate was to allow residential school survivors and their families tell their stories to help themselves and their communities heal. It also sought to create a historical record of the abuses of the residential school system and to recommend ways for survivors and all Canadians to move forward. Wilson, along with Wilton Littlechild and Murray Sinclair travelled the country hearing from some 6,750 people. A report was released in 2015, which drew from five million documents and included 94 Calls to Action. As Wilson describes in her book, she then worked to urge the reading and discussion of the calls to action, to encourage their implementation. A release from her publishers describes: 'With the skills of a journalist, the heart of a mother and grandmother, and the insights of a life as a spouse of a residential school survivor, Commissioner Wilson guides readers through her years witnessing survivor testimony across the country, providing her unique perspective on the personal toll and enduring public value of the commission. 'In this unparalleled account, she honours the voices of survivors who have called Canada to attention, determined to heal, reclaim, and thrive.' Book tour The book tour in the Maritimes is sponsored by the Maritime Regions Justice, Mission and Outreach Committee of the United Church of Canada and Women of First Light – an eastern hub of a non-profit group led by Indigenous women from Wabanaki Territory. Wabanaki includes parts of Quebec, all three Maritime provinces and northeastern United States, and includes five nations with their own languages. The purpose of Women of First Light is to heal its communities and families by remembering and returning to the traditional ways of their ancestors. Wilson speaks Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, and at 7:30 p.m. at the Eltuek Arts Centre. Both events are open to the public and all are welcome.