N.B. chiefs call on commissioner to denounce gag order on land acknowledgments
New Brunswick's six Wolastoqey chiefs called on the province's new commissioner on systemic racism on Monday to take a stand against the provincial government's ban on land acknowledgments.
Last Thursday the province ordered government employees to stop referring to unceded or unsurrendered lands when speaking at public meetings.
Attorney General Hugh Flemming said the directive was in response to a lawsuit filed last year by the Wolastoqey communities claiming ownership of more than 60 per cent of the province.
Tobique Chief Ross Perley said commissioner Manju Varma, who was appointed last month to address systemic racism in the province, should intervene to ask the attorney general to stand down. Chief Allan Polchies of the St. Mary's First Nation also said Varma needs to denounce the government's language on the issue.
"She is tasked with addressing systemic racism in New Brunswick, and she must stand up when systemic racism is on full display, which it is with the memo that was released on Thursday," Polchies said in an interview Monday.
Reached in Moncton, Varma said it was the first she was hearing of the First Nations' request. "It would be very irresponsible of me to comment on something that I haven't gotten a lot of information on," she said.
However the commissioner said she's open to those discussions and would be reaching out to the chiefs and the government. Varma said she had seen media reports on the acknowledgments issue and the reaction on social media, and it concerned her.
"When I saw that, I was concerned about what sort of impact that would have on my relationship with the Indigenous communities and the work that I would like to do with them," she said. "I'm not a provincial employee. I am independent, and my work with them will be from an independent lens."
Varma said she had read there was no consultation before the announcement, and that was also a concern.
Polchies said consultation with the provincial government is non-existent. "There was never any consultation with Indigenous leaders on everything the provincial government has released in the last year-and-a-half," he said.
He stressed the case before the courts is a title case, not a land claim.
"We've been very clear that we're not seeking the return of all the land in our territory. We're not looking to displace homeowners. We are seeking a declaration of title to our territory, which has never been ceded," he said.
Meanwhile, the president of CUPE New Brunswick, which represents 28,000 public sectors workers in the province, expressed disappointment with the government memo.
"Any attempt to discipline our members for making land acknowledgments will be met with grievances," Steve Drost said in a statement Monday.
Drost said the union urges its members to use words such as "unceded" and even "stolen" to describe the lands they live on. "That New Brunswick exists on the stolen, unceded and unsurrendered lands of the Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqey and Peskotomuhkati is not up for debate -- it is a fact," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.