CANADA
Net News Ledger
Posted 29 March 2017 by Amanda Perreault in Anishinaabe
THUNDER BAY – Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Grand Council Treaty #3 (GCT#3) Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh are calling for the resignation of the Hon. Lynn Beyak as a member of the Senate of Canada following repeated statements by the Senator in defense of the Indian Residential School system.
“Senator Beyak’s repeated comments defending the Indian Residential School system are a national insult and unacceptable for a member of the Senate of Canada. Her callous dismissal of the horrors of the Residential School experience is unbefitting a member of the Senate, and today we join the growing calls for her immediate resignation,” said NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler. “Her misguided statements, including comparisons of her suffering to those who were forced to attend Residential Schools, are an insult to Survivors and all the children who were lost. This makes a mockery of the Government of Canada’s efforts to move toward reconciliation.”
During debate on March 7, 2017, the Senator stated that an “abundance of good” has come from the Residential School system, and that the schools were “well-intentioned” and “mistakes” should not overshadow “good things” that happened.
Since then, the Senator has rebuked pleas for her to learn more about the horrors of Residential Schools, claiming to have ‘suffered’ with those who attended the schools, and purporting ‘shining examples from sea to sea of people who owe their lives to the schools’.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.