Warning: This story deals with disturbing subject matter that may upset and trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is standing by a candidate in British Columbia, even as calls mount among various Indigenous leaders for the nominee to resign, accusing Aaron Gunn of denying the history of residential schools.
“He’s not denied the impact of residential schools, that’s just misinformation,” Poilievre told reporters Saturday when asked about his support for Gunn, the candidate for North Island-Powell River.
“In fact, he has said that he wants to continue to condemn the residential schools and build stronger partnerships with First Nations people to unlock our resources, so that we can produce incredible paycheques and opportunities for First Nations communities right across British Columbia.”
Earlier this week, regional chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Terry Teegee accused Gunn of making past comments, calling them “reprehensible.”
“The comments are reprehensible, especially to residential school survivors,” Teegee said.
Among those posts referenced included a video posted on social media in which Gunn said Canada’s program of residential schools did not constitute an act of genocide and that the schools are “much-maligned.”
“There was no genocide. Stop lying to people and read a book,” Gunn wrote in 2020.
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Teegee said that the party should remove Gunn as a candidate for the comments.
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“If this is the party that allows denialism sentiments from their (candidates), then I don’t think they’re worthy of leading any country or government,” Teegee said.
More than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools, the last of which closed in 1996.
An estimated 6,000 children died in the schools, though experts say the actual number could be much higher.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was tasked with researching the institutions, found they were rife with abuse, with children separated from their families and barred from visiting with their families.
It concluded the schools were intended for cultural genocide, saying they were “a systematic, government- sponsored attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages and to assimilate Aboriginal peoples so that they no longer existed as distinct peoples.”
Gunn responded to the accusations Thursday night, saying he has “never wavered in condemning these institutions of abuse.”
“I have always been firm in recognizing the truly horrific events that transpired in residential schools, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is simply false,” he said in part.
“I have never wavered in condemning these institutions of abuse, where countless First Nations suffered at the hands of a patronizing federal government.”
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad and Chris Sankey, a former candidate for the party in the past provincial election, have posted on X, defending Gunn with Sankey calling the accusations “baseless.”
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The former vice-president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs also called on the party to remove Gunn, referencing various social media posts.
Bob (Galagame) Chamberlin called the comments “offensive” in a news release.
“When I see someone like Aaron Gunn espousing what I see as racist comments-denialism of the impacts of residential schools on First Nations, it’s appalling, it’s disgusting, it’s offensive,” Chamberlin said.
“I believe that Canadians need to understand that the Conservatives welcome these types of people into their party, and I think the leader needs to be asked does he support these statements.”
Even amid the accusations, the Conservative Party said in a statement to the Canadian Press — prior to Poilievre’s statements — that it stood by Gunn, saying he “has been clear in recognizing the truly horrific events that transpired in residential schools.”
They add that “any attempt to suggest otherwise is simply false.”
The party also pointed to a unanimous consent motion passed in the House of Commons that recognized residential schools as genocide in 2022.
Gunn was not a member of Parliament when that motion was passed.
While the party appears to be standing by Gunn, it has dropped a number of candidates in recent days when comments they had made came to light.
—with files from The Canadian Press
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