Letter to editor Globe and Mail April 13, 2011.
Making it work
Twelve years ago I worked with Michael Ignatieff as an editor in a writing program at the Banff Centre for the Arts. In order to work that summer, I needed to bring my two children and a babysitter, unprecedented in the program. “Fine,” said Mr. Ignatieff , “we’ll make it work.” He proceeded to get the housing I needed. He instantly supported my assumption that even during these child-rearing years I should work to my maximum potential.
That same summer he facilitated disability rights activist Catherine Frazee’s participation in the program by backing her request that the entire Banff centre be made wheelchair accessible. It was a stimulating, very productive summer for all of us as we worked on writing, activism and intellectual exploration.
Mr. Ignatieff was not a politician in those days. Equal opportunity for all was simply something he assumed, believed in, acted on and lived. Imagine what he could do for this country.
Kim Echlin, Toronto
No comments:
Post a Comment