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Future leaders learn about NWT
Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference brings study group North

Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, June 15, 2015

THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
A group of potential future leaders in Canada recently made a stop in Fort Smith and other communities in the NWT.

The 13 visitors were the NWT study group with the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference.

They were invited to Fort Smith by Mayor Brad Brake, who himself participated in such a conference in 2012, and arrived in the community on May 31 for a two-day visit.

Brake said the program allows people to see and understand how their decisions and those of their organizations impact others.

"It opens your eyes to the bigger picture and allows a better understanding of what it is to be a Canadian and a leader," he said.

The visitors met with the Town of Fort Smith's advisory boards on May 31 and the next day met with Salt River First Nation, Wood Buffalo National Park, the Town of Fort Smith and Smith's Landing First Nation. They also toured Northern Life Museum & Cultural Centre. While in the NWT, the group also visited Yellowknife, Inuvik and Norman Wells. Study group member Jake Hirsch-Allen, who works for the web-based business and professional networking service LinkedIn in Toronto, said the trip to the NWT was amazing.

"The people we have met up in the North have been absolutely astounding," he said.

"The warmth of the populations we've been interacting with has been just astounding. The aboriginal leaders have had incredibly compelling stories. It's been a really, really wonderful trip."

Brake also got the impression the visitors enjoyed their stop in Fort Smith.

"They truly enjoyed the town and the people they met," he said. "They felt welcomed and were in awe of many of the things that we take for granted on a daily basis. They were challenged by some of the presentations."

Brake said, during their visit to the NWT, the study group also learned more about the Northern style of leadership, such as consensus government in the legislative assembly. The Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference aims to broaden the perspectives of future leaders.

The conference invites mid-career, mid-level people from various walks of life - business, government, labour, First Nations, and community and charitable organizations - and helps develop their leadership skills.

It is held at various locations throughout Canada every several years. This year's conference began with a May 22 to 24 session in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and afterwards study groups fanned out across the country to all provinces and territories.

They reconvened in Ottawa and Gatineau from June 2 to 5 to discuss what they had discovered on their travels.

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