As a leader, how do you start on a journey toward reconciliation? Bob Watts suggests looking to the Seven Grandfather Teachings and taking first steps with humility, courage and love.
September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
This day provides an opportunity for all of us living in Canada to better understand the harmful impacts that residential schools have had on Indigenous peoples across this country and what steps we might take to engage in meaningful reconciliation. And while this moment calls for us to reflect, learn, and unlearn as individuals, this moment also calls for our organizations, institutions, and leaders to do the same.
At Generate Canada, we know there is no path to our vision–a strong and inclusive economy that thrives within nature’s limits–that does not include both truth and reconciliation.
We acknowledge that understanding, addressing, and healing from the impacts of colonialism are not only steps that need to be taken to achieve justice for Indigenous communities, they are steps that will allow us to build a strong and enduring future for Canada.
Recently, our President and CEO, David Hughes, sat down with Bob Watts–a Generate Canada board member and recognized leader on matters of reconciliation. You can read more about Bob and his storied career here, but to provide just a few highlights; he served as interim Director of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Assistant Deputy Minister for the Government of Canada and Senior Executive in Ontario, and is a fellow at Harvard Law School.
The conversation featured here is one of many that Bob and David have been taking part in over the past few months. Through these conversations, they have been discussing how to advance reconciliation through both their work and personal lives–as well as collectively within communities and organizations. As a key member of the team that formed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Bob has been generous in sharing his reflections on the impacts reconciliation can have on people past, present, and future, for which we are deeply grateful.
We extend our continued gratitude to Bob for sharing his time, his insights, and his immense amount of expertise as well as creating the space to have dialogues like this. We are also grateful for the many Indigenous-led leaders and organizations we work with who continue to inform and guide Generate Canada as we navigate our role in furthering reconciliation through our work.
Below are a few poignant moments from Bob and David’s recent conversation, which we encourage you to explore. Please take a look at the clips below.
One of the things I tell people in corporate Canada is, whether we are talking about reconciliation or we’re talking about partnership, is that partnership moves at the speed of trust. And trust is earned over 100 cups of tea
One of the things I tell people in corporate Canada is, whether we are talking about reconciliation or we’re talking about partnership, is that partnership moves at the speed of trust. And trust is earned over 100 cups of tea
I think the bravery of Canada and the bravery of survivors to ensure that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission could stand on its own two feet and do the work that it needed to do–to be part of the process was just absolutely incredible
I think the bravery of Canada and the bravery of survivors to ensure that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission could stand on its own two feet and do the work that it needed to do–to be part of the process was just absolutely incredible
There was a limited vision of two founding nations, the idea that we’re this French-English duality, when in fact there’s a huge Indigenous component to Canada that was here before anyone ever thought of the word ‘Canada’. Before the French or the English ever thought that there may be a Turtle Island–a place that they would end up finding home
There was a limited vision of two founding nations, the idea that we’re this French-English duality, when in fact there’s a huge Indigenous component to Canada that was here before anyone ever thought of the word ‘Canada’. Before the French or the English ever thought that there may be a Turtle Island–a place that they would end up finding home
When I think about how to move forward, I think about four kinds of change: symbolic change, substantive change, systemic change and spiritual change. I think the role of spirit in change is one of our challenges. How do we develop the spirit or ethic of change so that reconciliation becomes a part of our DNA as a country, not something that is sort of tacked on to something else?
When I think about how to move forward, I think about four kinds of change: symbolic change, substantive change, systemic change and spiritual change. I think the role of spirit in change is one of our challenges. How do we develop the spirit or ethic of change so that reconciliation becomes a part of our DNA as a country, not something that is sort of tacked on to something else?
A lot of Indigenous leaders and people more generally worry that urgency has the potential to not take into account the voice of Mother Earth in terms of how that urgency is addressed. So some of this is in how we do things, like not imposing the structure and change on people, but finding ways of doing things together in a way that helps to create confidence.
A lot of Indigenous leaders and people more generally worry that urgency has the potential to not take into account the voice of Mother Earth in terms of how that urgency is addressed. So some of this is in how we do things, like not imposing the structure and change on people, but finding ways of doing things together in a way that helps to create confidence.
We have so many tremendous institutions and people in this country, that I think have a vision of trying to leave a better place for their children than what they found. And if we all just had that one thing [we are all working toward] and also understand the idea that our children can’t be better off unless all children are better off–that’s pretty compelling
We have so many tremendous institutions and people in this country, that I think have a vision of trying to leave a better place for their children than what they found. And if we all just had that one thing [we are all working toward] and also understand the idea that our children can’t be better off unless all children are better off–that’s pretty compelling
