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e-1305 (Senate)

E-petition
Initiated by Alvin Fiddler from Thunder Bay, Ontario

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • On March 7, 2017, Senator Lynn Beyak defended the Indian Residential School in the Senate of Canada. She 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;
  • On September 1, 2017, Senator Beyak posted a letter on her website repeating her defense of the Indian Residential School System, and urged First Nation people to “Trade your status card for a Canadian citizenship” . Indigenous Peoples are Canadian Citizens; and
  • Senator Beyak’s comments are extremely offensive to not only Residential School Survivors but to all First Nations people. In a day where First Nations people and federal, provincial and municipal governments strive to reconcile our shared history, there is no room for the narrow-minded and dangerous views for a member of the Senate of Canada to have as they approve laws governing the country.
We, the undersigned, Citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to take steps to remove Lynn Beyak from her position as Senator.
Government response tabled on June 13, 2018 (Sessional Paper No. 8545-421-64-02)
Open for signature
October 27, 2017, at 4:02 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
February 24, 2018, at 4:02 p.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay)
April 30, 2018 (Petition No. 421-02288)
Government response tabled
June 13, 2018
Photo - Charlie Angus
Timmins—James Bay
New Democratic Party Caucus
Ontario