Order of Canada appointee says he's 'disappointed,' 'disgusted' with Senator Lynn Beyak comments

A northwestern Ontario resident who received the Order of Canada for his work in social justice advocacy and improving race relations says he's "disappointed" and "disgusted" by recent comments made by Senator Lynn Beyak.

• Senator Lynn Beyak says First Nations should give up status cards

• Nunavut senator responds to suggestion First Nations trade status cards for Canadian citizenship

In an open letter published on Sept. 1 on her Senate website, Beyak wrote that First Nations people should give up their Indigenous rights and integrate into Canadian society by trading status cards for Canadian citizenship. That's despite the fact that Indigenous people born in Canada are already citizens.

"The last time I checked, anyway, I was a Canadian citizen," Garnet Angeconeb said. "I do have a status card and I don't need to trade that in for my Canadian citizenship when I'm already Canadian."

After her previous comments about residential schools and the subsequent backlash, Angeconeb sent a letter to Beyak inviting her to meet to discuss residential schools and their legacies. Beyak met with Angeconeb, in addition to the Sioux Lookout Mayor's Committee for Truth and Reconciliation, in July.

• Senator Lynn Beyak meets with Sioux Lookout reconciliation committee

That meeting was described as "respectful" and "productive." But Beyak's recent letter revisited her earlier claims that history has judged residential schools unfairly. Angeconeb said he was disappointed to hear the comments, in light of what they talked about in July.

"We had a conversation and we certainly talked in a way that was meaningful, I thought, and in a way that promoted dialogue," he said.

"I thought we went away from that meeting feeling that there was a bit more understanding, more empathy towards the situation of survivors that currently experienced the effects."

No one from Beyak's office replied to CBC News' request for comment on Monday. However, last week she sent another open letter to the parliamentary press gallery reiterating that victims of residential schools should be compensated immediately and that "what we have been doing is obviously not working," citing issues such as unclean water and inadequate housing in Indigenous communities.

The reconciliation committee in Sioux Lookout, Ont., located about 400 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, is made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community leaders working towards truth and reconciliation. The organization issued its own response to Beyak's open letter.

The committee is "disappointed with Senator Lynn Beyak's recent misguided comments about Indigenous issues," said the written release. Sioux Lookout's mayor, Doug Lawrance, added that "we engaged in dialogue with Senator Beyak because she comes from northwestern Ontario where there were nine residential schools."

"It is important for all Canadians to know and understand this history."

"In many, many ways, I felt really disappointed that she continues to talk about the residential schools as being good," Angeconeb said. "The thing is, I don't really expect people to change overnight ... but in terms of relaying to her the realities of the legacy of residential school, I thought she would be a bit more empathetic, more understanding."

Asked if he would consider reaching out to Beyak again, Angeconeb said "I doubt [that] very much," but added that "if she wants to join the movement on reconciliation, the door's always open."

"We made an effort and sometimes it's best to just keep moving," he said.