Jody Wilson-Raybould

Introducing the first Indigenous person to be justice minister and attorney general.

She isn’t sure exactly when it happened, but at some point in 2016 the realization began to sink in for Jody Wilson-Raybould that she is the first Indigenous person to be appointed justice minister and attorney general of Canada. She can, though, think of two standout moments from last year: “the emotion that was felt by all when we launched MMIWG [the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls]” and when she met Charlie Lowthian-Rickert, a trans tween, just prior to the introduction of Bill C-16, which would make it illegal to discriminate against gender-diverse Canadians. “For me, Charlie and her parents are the embodiment of a Canada that celebrates diversity and embraces acceptance,” says Wilson-Raybould.(Christina Reynolds)