Humbled and Honoured

On November 16th, Louis Riel Day, I was humbled and honoured by Queen's. 

Mr. Chancellor, by the authority of the Senate, I have the pleasure to present to you, that at your hands he may receive the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa

Pierre David Bouchard

Distinguished author and educator, Métis raconteur, and activist; Prolific artist and pedagogue, authoring more than seventy children’s and cultural books;

Graduate of the University of Regina;

An inspiring mentor whose love of language and learning allowed him to meet the challenge of dyslexia head on, achieving success as a teacher and school administrator, whose understanding of the unique challenges faced by Aboriginal, second language and special needs learners have made him an empathetic and effective guide for those striving to become literate;

Embracing the gift from his great-grandmother to become an enthusiastic champion of traditional storytelling, whose own visually evocative style of writing provides a powerful reflection of authenticity in Indigenous knowledge and culture;

Noted chronicler in English, French, as well as thirteen of Canada’s Indigenous languages, whose body of work in all its iterations constitutes a veritable ‘Rosetta Stone’ for many of our oldest lexical traditions;

Whose search to uncover the story of his own true self has inspired a quest to give voice to those who have long stood in the periphery;

An engaging speaker whose passion and humanity challenges all of us to see the potential of Indigenous peoples, while encouraging young Aboriginal people to recognize it in themselves;

Whose commitment to share with others never wavers so long as there are people eager to listen and learn, and whose lectures conclude only after the last curious soul has left satisfied;

The recipient of numerous national and international literary accolades, including the Governor General’s Literary Award, and the Silver Birch Award, and whose iconic work “If You’re Not From The Prairie” has been included in Macleans’ Magazine’s list of the top twenty children’s books in the history of Canada.

Member of the Order of Canada, Board Director of the Métis Federation of Canada, namesake and inspiration for the David Bouchard Public School in Oshawa, Ontario;

A remarkable individual whom we are delighted to welcome to Queen’s, paying tribute to his accomplishments with our highest award. 

The iPhone X

On Friday, Vicki picked up her new iPhone X

For those who might be calling it by the letter X, it is the Roman numeral X representing the number ten. It is the iPhone ten…X. And for those who might be wondering why iPhone went from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone X, it was ten years ago that Steve Jobs stood before the world and introduced the most significant piece of technology ever, one that would drastically change the world as we knew it.

This year, 2017, iPhone celebrated the tenth anniversary of the iPhone by introducing the iPhone X, the greatest iPhone ever made…and what a beauty it is (…this coming from a person waiting for the Pixel 2 XL to arrive in Canada).

2017 is the tenth anniversary of iPhone and is the anniversary of a year of unimaginable innovative growth. Here are a few of the many other changes have happened over the past ten years:

Facebook came to be in 2007.

Twitter appeared in 2007.                                    

Android was launched by Google in 2007.

Amazon released the Kindle, yes, in 2007.

Air B&B was created in 2007.

Michael Dell, who had left the company, came back to it… in 2007.

Clean tech and energy efficiency shot sky high in 2007.

The cost of DNA sequencing dropped by thousands of dollars in 2007.

This from my favourite futurist/columnist/author, Thomas Freidman:

When I was running around in 2004 declaring that the world was flat, Facebook didn’t even exist yet, Twitter was still a sound, the Cloud was still in the sky, 4G was a parking place, applications were what you sent to college, Linked in was barely known and most people thought it was a prison, Big Data was a rap star, Skype, for most people was a typographical error.

Friedman’s latest release, Thank You for Being Late, is now out in paperback. It’s also available on Audible.com. If you would like a piece of fiction that could have been written by Friedman but was written by Dan Brown, pick up  Brown’s latest release Origin – or do as I have done and listen to it on Audible.com and treat yourself.

Moore’s Law tells us that technological advancement doubles every two years so what should we expect in the next decade? Heck, what should we expect in two years?

Equally as important, what should we be preparing our students for?

Learning to CHILL

Catholic and a baby boomer -

When you are brought up Catholic...by Oblate priests and Cecile Mercier (my late mom), relaxing is not an option. The word chill is not a part of their vocabularies. Doing little to nothing, no matter why or when, is as close to a sin as you can come without being punished for it (...if you believe in sins).


My summer has been chill. Cousin Garry came over to two weeks and that was a real highlight as are all his visits. We barbecue, enjoy our city and all in all, we make the world a better place. Garry is back in Yorkshire awaiting our spring visit...

We then had Makwa and Nancy for a few days. Steve and Nancy have just become grandparents for a second time. They spent a few days here with their daughter Megan and that afforded us some great visiting time. Steve is
a master flute maker as well as my great friend.

And then, in keeping with the spirit of repos and chill, our good friends (and my partner in two Metis books), Dennis and Sharon Weber came to town. We went for dinner at our favourite hang out, Little Jumbo.


We had my old friend Laurie and and her friend John over for a barbecue.

Allan Primeau's niece Fanny from Montreal tried our cap steak.

Victoria turned 19 so there were parties - that I attended and enjoyed.

James is always a highlight in my day to day life.

And finally, this: Molson Canada gifted a classic Molson fridge to 150 Canadians. Brilliant, I say. Credit to living so long and having a great agent in Chris Patrick, I received this beauty (no, no beer included but still). Can you imagine a better gift for a man who is committed to learning how to "chill"??? I think not!!!

Proud to be Metis

This short video captures what I have tried to do in Proud to be Metis and in all my other books. It speaks to culture, literacy, education and so many other elements - all through the power of story.

Canada can do better

"We can't all be Finland" is what I hear when I quote the many successes Finland has achieved over the past few decades in its unconventional educational initiatives.

Over the next few weeks, I will focus on what Finland has been doing to move from a system of mediocrity to one that leads the free world in almost every segment of education.

My Arctic tour has driven home the obvious shortcomings of an educational system that we Canadians seem unwilling to change. It is well past the time that we stop tweaking what we have always done and do something very different.

These kids deserve to succeed. It is a human right that they be allowed to succeed - in their world, not in the world of central Ontario or Alberta. They should be allowed to succeed by their standards and not those of law makers who do not speak their language, who have never lived on their land and  who have likely never been to the Arctic.

Everything we know tells us that these kids will live lives at far lower standards than other Canadians - that they are destined to a world described by Canada's Auditor General in this way: Nunavummiut are far less healthy than other Canadians; a life expectancy 10 years lower, infant mortality five times higher, a smoking rate also five times higher, respiratory disease rates four times higher and a suicide rate six times higher.

Yet, they smile, laugh and speak their language with the greatest of pride. They continue to love and live off the land that provides them with life's bare essentials. They have hung on and will continue hanging on for as long as it takes for the rest of us to catch up.

When I spoke to primary children in Arctic Bay, they needed the help of a translator to understand me. Their spoken language is called Inuktitut. They speak it everywhere; at home, on the streets and at school. High school kids speak English with a charming accent. Their English is quite good but not of the level that would allow them to succeed in any standardized test.

Over the next few weeks, I will focus on what we might do differently.

For now, the best thing we have going for us is pictured here; amazing educators ready to do what is right for each and every child, if allowed to do so.

It is not possible however with hands tied by curriculum directed systems and standardized tests.

Cut our teachers loose and watch what passion, vision and commitment can do.

ARCTIC 2017

I am no Anthony Bourdain, but I have lived and traveled much of the world, every experience was exciting and wonderful...and then came the Arctic! 

The Arctic might as well be the moon – in all things, land and water. And the people there, people who are like me, Canadians and like me Indigenous, the people of the Arctic were as foreign to me as were Asians or Africans – from their languages to their life styles. They are simply and truly, awesome! 

The Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour 2017 invited me to be a part of their upcoming extravaganza. For this, I am eternally grateful as it has greatly enriched my life and, I hope and trust, those of many northerners.

The tour will be performing (starting next week) for several communities across the Arctic – communities that would otherwise never have the chance to witness the magic most Canadians have experienced in a spectacular air show. 

And the best thing is that there are no strings attached. The tour will be performing for the entertainment pleasure of Northern Canadians - simply for their pleasure. 

From my part, I have stories to share. The weather! The landscape! The adventure of getting in and out and about! And the best of all -  the people...the carvers, drummers, singers and hunters...the seamstresses, youth, Elders and the Newfoundlanders who have made the arctic their homes...

I have so much to share. Here I come...

Donald Trump - consequences for Canada

Donald Trump's election will have effects on Canada.

I have learned a few things in my life. None are certain, none but this one: "Before you turn 50, your body takes care of you. After you turn 50, you have to care for your body." That is for true.

Everything else - anything else - ??? I can, however, honestly and sincerely say that I would not have wanted my mom and dad to have lived in the U.S. during the last decade of their lives. I am happy to see the aged, the poor and minorities cared for to the extent that they are through our medical system.

I can also say that I appreciate the perspective Canada has in regards to education. Over the past years, I have seen, first hand, the effects of standardized testing. Education in the U.S. tends to be exclusive. Vouchers and standardized tests clearly favour a certain group over others. We, here in Canada, have a system that is more humane and inclusive.

Heads up Canada, as the Trump administration begins to tighten strings in health care and education. Accountability is going to take on a stronger place in education. We Canadians believe that working with children is different than working with automobiles. We believe that there is a better alternative to accountability and that is trust.

I would much rather look at my child's teacher and say, "I trust you with my little girl". Better trust than, "I will be watching you. You will be held accountable."

Our American neighbours could sell ice to the Inuit. They will sell accountability.

Canada...trust trumps accountability, everywhere but most certainly here in this sanctuary called Canada.