Senator Margaret Dawn Anderson

About five days prior to the announcement on December 12, 2018, I was notified I was going to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. I was excited and humbled to be chosen as a senator for the Northwest Territories.

My role as a senator is to provide sober second thought, which includes review of bills through a Canada-wide lens to study and assess impacts on the provinces and territories. These bills usually are proposed in the House of Commons. A bill can be proposed by the Senate of Canada as long as it does not appropriate public revenue or impose taxes. As a senator, I also represent ethnic groups, women, Indigenous people, minority languages and those who are underrepresented inside the red chamber.

As an Indigenous woman, my priorities centre around Indigenous peoples and women. Given my professional experience, I also am interested in the areas of justice, housing, food security and climate change. I also recognize

that communities in the territory are going through a hard time economically right now, which makes issues affecting employment a key priority. My mother, Sarah Anderson, was an Inuvialuktun instructor for over 20 years. She was one of a few who was fully immersed in the Sallirmiutun language, which is one of the Inuvialuit languages at risk of being lost. In addition, as the Northwest Territories has 11 official languages, language preservation, teaching and revitalization is imperative within the territory.

One of the biggest challenges I faced was growing up in a small Northern community, where opportunities for youth are very limited. But in the same sense, that was and remains my greatest strength. Growing up in Tuktoyaktuk, my family included my nanuk, daduk, aunties, uncles, cousins and elders. Everything is collective – you look out for one another. Family and community are intertwined and they celebrate with you in good times and support you when things are not going well.

My advice for youth is to do the best you can. If things don’t work out, don’t give up! Persevere and keep going. Even if it seems like you have little to no support, support will come from somewhere.

When I first left Tuktoyaktuk to attend college in Edmonton and completed my first year, I almost quit. It was my first time away from the North. I was a single mother with two young children. I applied for a job in Iqaluit, but the person I applied to spoke to me and convinced me to remain in college. It was because of this conversation that I successfully completed college.

Even if it seems like you don’t have support, believe in yourself and your ability to succeed. Always do your best and people will recognize your strengths. If they do not, know that there is something out there for you. Even if you think the odds are against you, there’s always one thing that will lift you back up. Just keep getting back up. The rewards are worth the effort!

RESUMÉ

Margaret Dawn Anderson is a proud Inuvialuk from Tuktoyaktuk who has been a public servant with the Government of the Northwest Territories for more than 20 years. She worked as Director of Community Justice and Policing, where she implemented positive changes to the territorial justice system, and she helped develop and implement the territory’s Wellness Court Program.

She showed her dedication to improving the lives of others through her Planning Action Responsibly Toward Non-Violent Empowered Relaionships (PARTNER) project, a Northern-based program for low- to medium-risk domestic violence offenders. She was also an active member of the Working Group for Domestic Violence Treatment Options Court.

Dawn is currently working on her Master’s of Arts in Indigenous Governance.