RC104 JanFeb2023 - Magazine - Page 9
RUDYK : FEDERATION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES, EDMONTON: GETTY IMAGES
L to R: A view of Edmonton, Alberta, in the winter from across
the river valley, including the conservatory and many of
the main buildings of the skyline. Like a perfectly placed
park bench, intentional leadership takes consideration and
careful planning. Taneen Rudyk delivers her inaugural speech
as president at FCM’s annual general meeting in June 2022,
telling delegates that working together is the key to building
strong communities.
How did your educational background and work
experience inform your current role as the president of FCM?
I’ve always been interested in debating important issues that are close to the heart. One
of the main things I learned from my education is to make sure to listen and understand
where people are coming from and not to
pre-judge. It’s important to do your homework and find out about people’s beliefs and
try to anticipate their motivation for reacting
and believing the way that they do.
The Alberta Elected Officials program was
an excellent education in terms of providing me with the technical details that were
important to understand—including the
dichotomy of large urban centres versus
suburban and rural centres and seeing how
we can all work together as neighbours. The
most important thing to keep in mind is that
people are generally just looking for the best
possible life, and we must help everyone
achieve their goals.
Who are some mentors that have inspired you on
your career path in municipal governance and as
Councillor for the Town of Vegreville?
I was always interested in politics and community-building, and I was active as a vol-
RENEWCANADA.NET
unteer, spending a good portion of my weeks
supporting the community at the school and
local levels. The two mentors encouraged me
to run had two different styles: one recommended I take the Alberta Elected Officials
program. Another had a different approach
that was no nonsense; they would rather miss
an education course if it saved the taxpayers a
penny. This was another lesson to me in how it
takes different views to make a strong municipal government—both mentors were working
on building community in their own ways.
What are guiding principles that help you carry out
your duties and bring out the best in your board of
directors at FCM?
Acting with integrity and making space to
allow for differences is critical. And that is
particularly important right now. People
have gotten uncomfortable with disagreeing
with each other in the right way. I’ve got a
colleague who says: “Be hard on the issues
and easy on the people.” I like that. The
board of directors is made up of amazing
leaders and it is my job to allow them to
shine, to use their strengths to the best effect.
We need to provide a platform so that people
see politics are still relevant and that we are
a trustworthy board working everyday to
make their lives better. We have so many
inspiring leaders across the country.
How do you actively and inclusively shape policy
priorities that reflect the concerns of municipal
governments and affiliate members?
FCM has a structure and an executive that
is made up of representatives across the
country. We’ve got provincial, territorial, and
executive associations and representations
from specialty caucuses, so we can have an
accurate account of what’s happening across
the country. We also have the ability for
members to attend executive meetings. Our
staff are so incredibly competent at supporting members and vetting their initiatives. We
also have workshops, for example, on how
to apply for grants such as the Green Municipal Fund or to protect yourself on digital
platforms and to encourage women to run
for public office.
We’re making sure we’re relevant in terms
of how we’re shaping our initiatives, because
the conversation changes and we need to
capture key issues across the country so we
can advocate to the federal government in a
way that’s meaningful. In fact, we actively
adopted a statement in support of inclusivity
at a recent board meeting.
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