Peggy Shaughnessy: Wow

Every so often, guest speakers come through town. Some are enlightning; others are forgettable. And then there’s Peggy Shaughnessy, who spoke today at the Peetabeck Health and Wellness Conference. Peggy Shaughnessy is Mohawk, she’s a researcher at Trent University, she’s the daughter of a prostitute, she has worked with the worst of the worst criminals in Canada - including Paul Bernardo, she was called in to fix the situation when there were 53 stabbings in 51 days at Millhaven Maximum Security, she used to run drugs for Satan’s Choice, she’s a mother and grandmother. How’s that for an intro?

I wish the entire community could have been there today. She addressed issues surrounding family violence (she hates the term domestic violence). Peggy basically said that things can’t continue as they are on First Nations reserves, and it’s up to the young people to change things. In a powerful presentation, she read Crown Attorney crime reports from reserves in Northwestern Ontario. It was incredibly sobering - one young girl was on the verge of tears. The horror was unspeakable, made worse by the fact that every word was true. I dare say that these stories would be front page news, and spark public outrage, if they occurred in Toronto, or Mississauga, or Brampton, or just about any other non-First Nations community in the country.

I look forward to Peggy’s presentation tomorrow on the gossip epidemic on reserves. She claims people are killing others, and themselves, because of gossip. It should be interesting.

Peggy heads up the WhitePath Counselling and Consulting Services. You can read her bio by clicking on the link on the right.