Two North Vancouver women are being recognized with an award of distinction for their achievements and commitment to community well-being.
Shannon Salter, head of BC Public Service and deputy minister to Premier David Eby, and Amy Parent (Sigidimnaḵ’ Noxs Ts’aawit), associate professor and the Canada research chair in Indigenous Education and Governance at Simon Fraser University, are recipients of the 43rd annual YWCA BC Women of Distinction Awards.
The awards celebrate individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions to the community, fostering the well-being, strength and future of the Lower Mainland, the YWCA BC said in a press release. This year, 13 women and one business received the recognition. They were officially honoured at a gala event May 7 in Vancouver.
“It’s an incredible honour,” Salter said. “This one really stands out because of how community-minded it is and how focused it is on giving back. So to be recognized for community service and contribution is really special.”
Salter took home the award in the Business and the Professions category and has a large portfolio of public service work under her belt.
She leads BC Public Service, which serves 39,000 members by providing programs, services and policy expertise in areas like education, health care, public safety and environmental management. On top of public service, she advises the premier on policy issues, Salter said.
Before that Salter served as the deputy attorney general, becoming one of the youngest in the province’s history to hold the position at age 45. During her time, she implemented the Indigenous Justice Strategy, which helps Indigenous communities have more “involvement in the local administration of justice.”
At first, Salter was nervous taking on the role.
“Especially for women, there can be a real tendency to have an imposter complex when you’re asked to serve in these really big roles, especially ones that had historically been occupied by men or people older,” she said. “But then I quickly came to understand how important it is that the makeup of BC Public Service reflects the people that we serve in British Columbia.”
Now 48, Salter was also founding chair of the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, Canada’s first online tribunal, where she helped launch technology that made justice more accessible. She has also been named to Business in Vancouver’s BC500 and Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50.
As for Parent, she said she was speechless when her name was called for the award.
“It does mean a lot to be able to accept an award like this,” Parent said. “As Indigenous women, we don’t do this work alone. It’s based on our collectivity, and it takes generations for many of us to be placed in the spaces that we are in right now.”
Parent is a member of the Nisga’a Nation, located in northwestern B.C., and received the distinction award under the reconciliation category.
She led a rematriation delegation for the return of a Nisga’a totem pole from the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, and the Ni’isjoohl memorial pole was brought back to the Nass Valley in September, 2023. The pole was commissioned by Parent’s ancestral grandmother Joanna Moody in the 1860s honouring Ts’aawit, an ancestor “who fell defending their family and nation’s sovereignty.” In 2024, Parent’s work on the pole was recognized as she earned Academic of the Year honours from the Confederation of the University Faculty Associations of B.C.
“Part of my acceptance speech was honouring her and her amazing spirit and strength that has really helped to get me to the place where I’m at,” she said about her grandmother. “She was an amazingly strong woman.”
Today, Parent wears many hats, including as an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Education and Governance in SFU’s education faculty. She is also United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) co-chair in Indigenous knowledge research governance and rematriation, and also serves as co-chair on Canada’s federal Tri-Agency Indigenous Research Leadership Circle.
Event chair Juggy Sihota said this year’s recipients are leaders in the truest sense.
“They are mentors and mothers, builders and bridgemakers, women who show up for their communities long before anyone thinks to thank them,” Sihota said. “What inspires me most is not only what they have accomplished, but how they have carried themselves along the way: with grace, grit and a deep belief that lifting others up is the whole point. “
The full list of YWCA BC’s Women of Distinction recipients can be found on their website.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.