Lisa Hrabluk

I’m off to the 11th annual New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Tuesday and I expect it will play out like past nights. Long lines at the bar, tight seating arrangements (they always oversell these fundraisers by a few tables) and three guys up on the stage.

As of this year, there will be 45 laureates in the NB Business Hall of Fame and only one of them is a woman. Her name is Ruth Cook Wilson and she was inducted, posthumously in 2000. Ms. Wilson was the driving force behind the creation of what became Medavie Blue Cross, serving as its first executive director in 1944.

Yea Ruth!

But seriously, one woman? Eleven years and 44 names later the people who nominate and select these laureates couldn’t think of any other women in the history of New Brunswick to pick out of the crowd and say; “Hey, you’ve accomplished something impressive.”

The easy retort, and I’ve heard it, is to suggest that there might not be any women deserving of being inducted into the hall. To that I say, why don’t we have a look first and then decide.

The province is 224 years old.

New Brunswick holds tight to an orthodox vision of its history, particularly in its business and political circles. It has singled out some people and given them great praise and a lot of credit for helping to develop the province. The Great Man way of telling history is very strong in New Brunswick. But how can we be sure that these few tales of greatness tell the whole story? A little research might reveal a far more colourful and nuanced history than the one oft-repeated.

For instance, David Adam Richard’s novel River of the Brokenhearted, was based on the life of his grandmother, who ran the local movie theatre in Miramichi. She certainly wasn’t the only woman to roll up her sleeves and get to work.

Journalist Sally Armstrong released a novel last year based on one of her ancestors entitled The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor: The First Woman Settler of the Miramichi.

The Hall of Fame includes a list of many celebrated New Brunswick business leaders. High time it opened up the party to a more diverse group of worthy people.