Rosemary Ganley talks Trump, Trudeau and her experience at G7 Summit

Last January Rosemary Ganley received a phone call out of the blue from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The writer, retired teacher and community organizer was surprised to hear the recognizable voice of the Liberal PM on the line, who wanted Ganley to consider serving on his gender equality committee he was putting together ahead of the G7 Summit held in Quebec earlier this month.

“When I read the list of globally known women including Melinda Gates, Malala Yousafzai, Christine Lagarde of the IMF, I said ‘Mr.
prime pinister, what on Earth do you want from me?'” said Ganley.

“‘He said your voice, your experience, and your grassroots connections, and I said I have those and that’s what I will bring.'”

At the breakfast meeting for women’s empowerment, Ganley says there was a delay in the start of the roundtable discussion, while they waited for a certain world leader who was running late.

“And there’s a big fuss and the cameras all go ‘click, click, click’ and in comes the president of the United States, 20 minutes late,” said Ganley. “He’s a very big man, he’s six-foot-two and he’s quite orange.”

Known for her grassroots activism and community building efforts, Ganley also has a reputation for calling it like it is, but in a positive light and now that she’s home she’s been reminiscing about her chance to rub elbows with global leaders at the G7 meetings. She says she’s been busier than ever with speaking requests and calls for public appearances.

Nicole Gagliardi is one of those making the request and is working to set up special a evening and conversation where Ganley can share her story with the public and hopefully inspire others to get involved in community building.

“When I heard about her experiences at the G7 I thought this is another great opportunity to make those connections but also to just share that really remarkable experience,” said Gagliardi, a community development professional. “And knowing Rosemary as the kind of person who is really interested in sharing and helping other leaders in the community it seemed like a good opportunity.”

Since returning home Ganley has also published a book of her columns she’s written for the Peterborough Examiner from 2015 to 2018, called “Positive Community” which is available from her website YellowDragonFly.com