Driftpile Cree Nation lifts boycott on Slave Lake, Alta., after councillor's apology for homeless comments
Town councillor said community should 'stop feeding' homeless people from surrounding First Nations
A northern Alberta First Nation has lifted a boycott on a neighbouring community after a town councillor apologized for comments she made about the local Indigenous homeless population.
Chief and council for Driftpile Cree Nation lifted its boycott after discussions with the mayor and council of Slave Lake, a town about 200 kilometres north of Edmonton and 70 kilometres east of the First Nation.
Chief Dwayne Laboucan said he and the council are satisfied with the apologies made by Slave Lake Mayor Tyler Warman and Coun. Joy McGregor, and hope they will learn from their mistakes.
"We believe that their intentions are right," Laboucan said.
"They realize they made a mistake and they want to learn, and education to us is the only way to move forward."
McGregor was criticized for comments she made at a Sept. 8 town council meeting while giving an update on the Homeless Coalition. She said the town should "stop feeding" homeless people in the community. She implied many of them were Indigenous and from surrounding First Nations communities.
"A lot of our people are coming from Trout [Lake], Loon [Lake], Atikameg, Wabasca. They're not even local to our own community," McGregor said at the meeting.
"We need to do some solid work ... to get them home. We need to stop being so nice to them. We need to stop feeding them. We need to stop doing all these wonderful things."
In a news release Nov. 8, Driftpile Cree Nation said it would not be making any expenditures in Slave Lake until it received a public apology for "the callous, cruel and racist comments made by councillor McGregor."
Laboucan said the initial apology from McGregor was "half-hearted," but that he felt the second apology she made at a Nov. 11 council meeting was much better.
"My comments were not meant to be hurtful, to attack, [or] to marginalize," McGregor said on Nov. 11.
"After reflection, I realize they have, and I can understand why those communities are disappointed in me, as I am disappointed in myself."
Laboucan said Warman visited Driftpile Cree Nation to apologize in person, and they expect McGregor to come up in the near future.
Not calling for resignation
Laboucan said he and council have received a lot of feedback, including many calls for them to formally ask for McGregor's resignation.
But he said they decided not to call for her resignation, hoping this can be a teachable moment for her, the rest of council and the town itself.
"Even if the person steps down, there's still racism out there," Laboucan said.
"That's why we are trying to … educate people."
Laboucan said the town has asked them for some training packages in hopes to educate themselves a bit more about their neighbours.
And though the boycott is lifted, Laboucan hopes Slave Lake town council will follow through with their commitments.
"Racism and the homelessness issue is not something that we take lightly," Laboucan said. "We will be watching how Slave Lake moves forward."