Toronto Star - Inuit trailblazer had everything but choice
Joseph Flowers is a young man on the brink of success. In 13 days, he'll graduate from [McGill] law school and head to Ottawa to serve as a Federal Court law clerk. In March, he'll write his bar admission exam. After that, he'll be a full-fledged lawyer. Opportunities are already coming his way. And that's only the latest chapter of the story.
He has an undergraduate degree in linguistics [McGill], a diploma from Quebec's top culinary institute and six years of experience as a professional cook in Montreal's finest restaurants. He participated in the Canada World Youth program, working on a dairy farm in Drayton, Alta., and a primary school in Uruguay. He is a Jane Glassco Arctic fellow, working with other talented young northerners to develop a vision for their region. He will soon complete one of the requirements of the program, a policy paper on a challenge facing the North. He is articulate in English and French, web-savvy and self-assured.
But there is one discordant note: Flowers, who is Inuk, is angry. He hides it most of the time but he can't let go of it. Despite the benefits he has had and the investment his province has made in him (the Kativik School Board paid for his post-secondary education), no one ever asked him: "Joey, what do you want to do? What do you want to be?"
