By Canadian Press

First Nations coalition rejects recommendation to lift Sen. Beyak’s suspension

Jul 2, 2020 | 1:00 PM

OTTAWA — A coalition of First Nations chiefs and residential school survivors are rejecting new recommendations to lift Sen. Lynn Beyak’s suspension from the Senate.

They say her most recent anti-racism training undermines and disregards calls from Indigenous Peoples to remove Beyak from the upper chamber.

Last week, the Senate ethics committee tabled a report recommending Beyak’s suspension be lifted now that she has taken anti-racism training and apologized for posting derogatory letters about Indigenous Peoples on her website.

The coalition sent a letter to the team that led Beyak’s training, which determined she “has learned (and) was willing to learn” about racism against Indigenous peoples following a four-day, virtual education program in May.

The group says this education program was an inappropriate process, as it offered no involvement or input from First Nations and residential school survivors in Beyak’s home region of northwestern Ontario.

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The group, which includes several First Nations grand chiefs and regional chiefs, say they do not accept the apology she gave last month and insist she must resign. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2020.

The Canadian Press