THUNDER BAY –Indigenous leaders in Ontario’s northwest are slamming Dryden town council’s decision not condemn embattled Sen. Lynn Beyak and call for her resignation from the Red Chamber.
Council on Monday voted 5-2 against Coun. Shayne MacKinnon’s motion.
On Wednesday, both Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Grand Council Treaty No. 3 issued statements condemning the lack of action.
NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler called on all Canadians to join in the fight against bigotry.
I am very disappointed that all members of Dryden city council did not take Senator Beyak’s racist conduct seriously and declined to condemn her actions,” Fiddler said in a release.
“As leaders we must seize every opportunity to support reconciliation and speak out against racism. NAN and GCT#3 agree that it is the duty of all Canadians to stand against racism and bigotry, and that hurtful comments that ignore our shared colonial history must be denounced. Senator Beyak’s words and actions must be recognized as insulting, hurtful and in need of condemnation by all Canadians.”
Beyak came under heavy criticism for posting letters to her official Senate website defending the residential school system, then refused to remove them until under threat of suspension.
The Dryden senator has twice been suspended from the Senate, most recently for not taking sensitivity training seriously enough in the eyes of the Senate’s oversight committee.
In a statement signed by Grand Council Treaty No. 3 political advisor Don Morriseau, the territorial leaders called the vote a disappointment.
“We believe it is the duty of all Canadians to stand against racism and bigotry in the defence the human dignity. The hurtful comments that ignore our shared colonial legacy should not be brushed aside due to jurisdictional or semantic arguments,” the statement reads.
“Dryden is within the territory of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty 3 and the actions of its leadership (are) observed by all of its residents, including survivors and intergenerational survivors of the residential school system.”
Silence is support and indifference is insulting when it comes to crimes of the past, the release went on to say.
Initially Fiddler called for a boycott of Dryden, though both governing bodies are still calling for Beyak’s removal from the Senate. The Conservative Party of Canada removed her from caucus in January 2018.
Dryden Mayor Greg Wilson, who abstained from the vote, said it was unfortunate the motion had to vote on MacKinnon’s motion in the first place, saying many on council don’t believe it was within their jurisdiction to call for punishment against a sitting senator.
“To me, it was an exercise in frustration,” Wilson told Thunder Bay Television.
Wilson said he respects the Indigenous leaders and their opinions, and urged them to watch the proceedings to see how the vote actually unfolded.
He added he’s been speaking with various Indigenous leaders in the Dryden area for some time and has consistently told them municipal leaders should not be voting on federal or provincial matters.
“Otherwise, where do we stop?” he asked. “It’s the same reason we didn’t vote on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s three violations of the federal ethics committee, demanding that he resign. Our efforts would have been an exercise in futility.”
