Andrew Scheer 'condemns' Lynn Beyak's take on First Nations issues, but leaves her in caucus
'I certainly don't agree with her sentiments, she doesn't speak for our caucus, our party,' Scheer says
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheersays Sen. Lynn Beyak's recent remarks about First Nations people went a step too far, but he won't remove herfrom the Tory fold just yet.
"I certainly don't agree with her sentiments, she doesn't speak for our caucus, our party. I certainly condemn the choice of words that she used,"Scheersaid in an interview withCBC News Network'sPower & PoliticsMonday.
Scheer said the northwestern Ontario senator has "no role" in the caucus.
As of late Monday, Beyak is still a Conservative member on three Senate committees, including transport, agriculture and defence. A spokesperson for Conservative Senate leader Larry Smith did not answer when asked if she would remain on those committees moving forward.
However, Scheeropened the door for Beyak to step aside from the partyif she cannot commit to embracing a "positive, inclusive message" that he wants to share with Canadians.
"If they don't share in that vision, then they have a choice to make," he said.
When asked about his appeal among Indigenous peoples given his response to Beyak, Scheersaid Conservative policiesappeal to all Canadians.
"We want them to be partners in prosperity, we want them to share in the economic benefits ofsome of the natural resources projects that are available," he said, noting someFirst Nations peoples have supported pipeline development like Enbridge's now-defunct Northern Gateway and TransCanada's Energy East.
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Beyak recently said she thought First Nations should give up their status cards, pursue a negotiated settlement to put an end to treaty agreementsand become Canadian citizens. (Indigenous people born in this country are citizens.)
"None of us are leaving, so let's stop the guilt and blame and find a way to live together and share," she wrote in an open letterposted to her website. "All Canadians are then free to preserve their cultures in their own communities, on their own time, with their own dime."
Beyakhas also defended the legacy of the residential school system, while criticizing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that conducted an exhaustive six-year study of the institutions.
"A small number of Aboriginals found the schools bad," she wrote in the open letter. "Only 1 in 3 Indigenous children ever attended them. Very few were torn from their parents arms, but rather were enrolled by loving parents who were away trapping and trading for months on end."
'Stupid' and 'erroneous'
Beyak's comments sparked outrage from at least one Conservative caucus colleague.
In an interview with CBC North Monday, Nunavut Sen. Dennis Patterson said her comments are "stupid" and "erroneous."
He said of course Indigenous peoples are citizens, and much more than a third of Inuit peoples forcibly attended residential schools throughout the north.
"This isn't the first time Sen. Beyak has shot her mouth off indiscriminately, and I'm very upset that her remarks have reflected on the Senateand on our caucus. Her remarks areprovocative, offensive and they're misinformed. They're not based on fact," he said.
Patterson said her views are "way off the mainstream" and that he didn't know any senator who shares those views.
"Most of them that I've spoken to, and I'm sure all of them, are embarrassedand outraged by these comments she continues to make publicly," he said.
In a statement addressed to CBC News, and sent to the parliamentary press gallery, Beyaksaid last week that she believes all survivors of the residential school system should be compensated.
"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," she wrote.
However, in 2007, the former Conservative government did reach the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) with some 80,000 former students.
As of September 2017,more than $3.1 billionhasbeenpaidto former students.
According to the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat, 98 per cent of allclaims have been resolved.
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