'From Where I Stand': Jody Wilson-Raybould to release book this fall

Jody Wilson-Raybould appears at the House of Commons Justice Committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

VANCOUVER - A book by former justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould will be released on Sept. 20, according to her publisher.

The book, which is titled From Where I Stand: Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a Stronger Canada, will be released by Purich Books - part of the University of British Columbia Press.

They say in a news release that it's a timely, forthright, impassioned and optimistic book for all Canadians.

It urges Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to build on the momentum of the reconciliation journey or risk losing progress.

Wilson-Raybould is now an Independent MP for Vancouver Granville and has served as a British Columbia Regional Chief, in addition to her roles as minister of justice and attorney general for Canada.

Purich Books says Wilson-Raybould, also known by her Kwak'wala name of Puglaas, draws on her speeches and other writings for the book.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who's a law professor at Allard Law School at UBC and the director of the Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, calls the book a must-read.

“Puglaas shares a clear understanding of where we have come from, the issues we must address, and the pathways to a transformed future,” she said in a statement.

“Having witnessed her remarkable courage and capacity as Canada's attorney general and her determination to do what is right without succumbing to unrelenting political pressure, Puglaas stands tall among Canadians as a person for whom truth, thoughtfulness, and principle are not mere words - but values to sustain a different kind of policy and politics.”

Wilson-Raybould served as Canada's first Indigenous justice minister before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled her to the portfolio of veterans affairs in January.

She later revealed she thought the decision to move her out of Justice was motivated by her refusal to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant SNC-Lavalin. She ultimately resigned from cabinet.

Trudeau denied any wrongdoing but conceded there was an “erosion of trust” between his office and Wilson-Raybould.