A former Parry Sound Deputy Clerk has been promoted to Town Clerk, 17 years after she first resigned.
The announcement that Rebecca Johnson is taking over for the retiring Jackie Boggs was made at the Parry Sound town council inaugural meeting last Tuesday.
Johnson says she started as Deputy Clerk in the mid-nineties before resigning in 2002 to pursue solidarity and international human rights work in Palestine and Israel. She did that for two years before moving to Toronto.
While in the Middle East, Johnson says she coordinated international accompaniers from various countries who were sponsored and sent to work with Israeli and Palestinian peace and human rights groups. It was solidarity work concerned with the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and territory.
After living away from Parry Sound for 11 years, she returned home and worked at the Stockey Centre in 2013 then began to work in Human Resources with the Town shortly after.
“It’s really lovely to be back. It’s one of those things where you go away and return with a fresh view on the place you’re from. Some of that is refreshingly really great to come back because there is a love there and you can be critical too. You see stuff that you lived in and see how other places function and do things. I see issues of occupation, colonization and I look here and see what continues with First Nations struggles under post-colonization. That’s been something that my eyes were opened to more by going away and coming back,” Johnson said.
Rebecca Johnson will replace Jackie Boggs in her role as Town Clerk on February 1st.
