news | Saturday April 11, 2026

Poem by Jónína Kirton Read at the BC Legislature

We were very excited to learn that on March 31, British Columbia’s Labour Minister the Honourable Jennifer Whiteside shared Jónína Kirton poem “Fraser River Forgetting” from the collection Standing in a River of Time as a reflection with the BC Legislature. Congratulations, Jónína! What a fantastic poem to meditate on.

An excerpt from “Fraser River Forgetting”:

“around New West we find many mentions of Simon
the one the river is now named after
his Métis interpreter and guide forgotten

there are no statues no plaques devoted to
my great-great-great-grandfather, Waccan
a.k.a. Jean-Baptiste Boucher
a voyageur who spoke many languages
and is said to be the most famous
Métis man this side of the Rockies
he remains unnamed in most history books
there are no statues no plaques devoted to
his place in the settling of these lands

now buried at Fort St. James
I think I just felt him roll over
did he know what he was bringing?”

Listen to Minister Whiteside’s reading at the legislature here.