Councillor must apologize and pay $500 fine or resign, says P.E.I. minister

The sign posted by Councillor John Robertson, which is posted saying "Truth: Mass Graves Hoax, Reconciliation: Redeem Sir John A's Integrity." (Courtesy: Gregory Miller)

MURRAY HARBOUR, P.E.I. -

A village councillor in Prince Edward Island has until Sunday to pay a $500 fine and apologize for displaying a sign on his property denying the existence of residential school graves, or he will be forced to resign.

P.E.I. Minister of Housing, Land and Communities Rob Lantz said in a statement Thursday that Murray Harbour Coun. John Robertson has until Dec. 31 to comply with the sanctions placed on him by council.

Robertson did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

The councillor displayed a sign in October with the message, "Truth: mass grave hoax" and "Reconciliation: Redeem Sir John A.'s integrity," ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

In response to the sign, Robertson received calls for his resignation from P.E.I. Sen. Brian Francis, Abegweit First Nation Chief Roderick Gould Jr., as well as the mayor and his fellow council members.

Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, is considered the architect of Confederation and of the residential school system; he championed policies of assimilation and violence toward Indigenous people.

In May 2021, the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation announced that ground-penetrating radar had revealed the possible remains of as many as 215 children around the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia's Interior. Since then, many other First Nations across Canada have searched school sites in their territories for graves.

The Murray Harbour council voted in November to suspend Robertson for six months and force him to pay a $500 fine and write a letter of apology.

On Dec. 8, Lantz said he received a formal request from the Rural Municipality of Murray Harbour to conduct an inquiry into Robertson's conduct and his failure to comply with the sanctions placed on him by council.

"After reviewing the documentation provided by the Rural Municipality of Murray Harbour, I have concluded that no further inquiry is required," said Lantz.

"I have notified Coun. John Robertson that he is ordered to comply with the sanctions placed on him by council or resign from his role on council by Dec. 31, 2023."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2023.

-- By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax.

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