At Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 Canada Day celebration, conservative leader Andrew Scheer said acknowledging Indigenous people on Canada Day is 乌鸦传媒渙bviously very important,乌鸦传媒� while maintaining that Canada Day is still, nonetheless, a cause for celebration.
乌鸦传媒淭his is a day for everyone to celebrate Canada whether we are Indigenous Canadians, whether our families have been here for multiple generations or if we乌鸦传媒檝e literally just arrived,乌鸦传媒� said Scheer.
That opinion may not represent many in the Indigenous community and it certainly did not bode well with Okanagan Indian Band Chief Byron Louis.
乌鸦传媒淎s an individual, I乌鸦传媒檇 say I can乌鸦传媒檛 really support that (statement),乌鸦传媒� said Louis. 乌鸦传媒�(Sure) it乌鸦传媒檚 something we take as a statutory holiday, but once you start getting deeper as an Aboriginal person, there are bigger issues on celebrating a day that (oppressed our community). It gets a little cloudy.乌鸦传媒�
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Tensions between the government and First Nations rose in 2017 when Canada celebrated its sesquicentennial birthday, with the trendy tag line, 乌鸦传媒淐anada 150.乌鸦传媒� Indigenous people raised their voices and created an alternative, opposing campaign called, 乌鸦传媒淩ethink 150: Indigenous Truth乌鸦传媒�; which encouraged Canadians to consider a different perspective on the extravagant marketing campaign.
Since then, the liberal government, in Louis乌鸦传媒� perspective, created momentum for the path to reconciliation; something that he isn乌鸦传媒檛 quite convinced Scheer will carry on if elected prime minister.
READ MORE: RECAP: 10 Canada Day moments and videos you乌鸦传媒檒l want to see
乌鸦传媒淭he past conservative government was quite negative to our clan,乌鸦传媒� said Louis, referring to sweeping budget cuts to First Nations communities across Canada.
乌鸦传媒淥ur constitution has the treaty rights right in there and our party has supported a lot of the work in terms of reconciliation,乌鸦传媒� said Scheer, citing former conservative prime minister Stephen Harper乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒渉istoric apology乌鸦传媒� for residential schools over 10 years ago.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 one thing to mean (the apology),乌鸦传媒� Louis responded, 乌鸦传媒渋t乌鸦传媒檚 another thing to apologize because (we were) threatening to sue (the conservative party) and had a pretty good case.乌鸦传媒�
Although Scheer said 乌鸦传媒渢here乌鸦传媒檚 a lot of common ground (and) there are some areas that (they乌鸦传媒檇) like to move forward on,乌鸦传媒� Indigenous-government relations will be 乌鸦传媒渧ery positive乌鸦传媒� if the conservatives take a majority government.
乌鸦传媒淲e don乌鸦传媒檛 know what he乌鸦传媒檚 about,乌鸦传媒� said Louis, recalling a number of incidents where he felt Scheer reported vague answers about Indigenous rights. 乌鸦传媒淚t does concern us.乌鸦传媒�
READ MORE: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer calls out local MP during Canada Day
David.venn@kelownacapnews.com
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