Alberta minister calls Beyak comments a step back for reconciliation
'Repugnant remarks are the 'big enemy of reconciliation,' says Indigenous Relations minister
Alberta Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan is seething about recent remarks made by Ontario Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak.
"It's completely wrong in terms of its fact, and absolutely wrong in terms of its tone and relationship," Feehan said Friday in an interview with CBC News.
"To think that First Nations aren't citizens of Canada is so absurd It's almost hard to think about how to respond."
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Beyak, who has previously sparked controversy over a series of comments about residential schools and Indigenous people, wrote on her Senate web page that First Nations people should give up their Indigenous rights and integrate into Canadian society.
"Trade your status card for a Canadian citizenship, with a fair and negotiated payout to each Indigenous man, woman and child in Canada, to settle all the outstanding land claims and treaties, and move forward together just like the leaders already do in Ottawa," Beyak wrote in an open letter published Sept. 1.
Ignorance the 'enemy of reconciliation'
Calling Beyak's remarks "repugnant," Feehan said ignorance of the facts is the "big enemy of reconciliation."
"It's something that's really untenable, especially when it comes from someone in an official position who has access to all the resources available to all of us who serve in the public interest."
The Indigenous Relations minister stopped short of joining Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson and Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman in calling for Beyak to resign, but said it's something her party should discuss with her.
"I'm so disappointed at her comments, we would be in a better place if she made that choice," Feehan said.
Petition to resign
Katherine Swampy, a Samson Cree Nation councillor, has started an online petition calling for Beyak to resign from the Senate.
"I would absolutely love if she could take the responsibility for her own action and just step down," Swampy said. "She obviously doesn't belong there.
"We're all born in Canada, so there's sort of an inherent Canadian status by default."
Beyak did not respond to an interview request from CBC News earlier this week. But she sent a letter to the parliamentary press gallery in Ottawa Thursday,
"[The CBC reporter] forgot to mention an important paragraph where I clearly stated that victims of the residential schools should be compensated immediately," Beyak wrote. "I continue to advocate for them often and wonder what is taking so long. As stated in my letter, the dollars are going to lawyers and red-tape obstacles instead of the deserving individuals.
"What we have been doing is obviously not working, spending billions of dollars annually, yet filthy water and inadequate housing [are] still a reality on too many reserves."
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