McLeod criticizes senator
Michael McLeod says Lynn Beyak's comments on residential schools are damaging; Cece Hodgson McCauley says there were good things about the schools
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, April 10, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
While the territory's MP says he would have no problem if Lynn Beyak resigned from Canada's Senate, award-winning News/North columnist Cece Hodgson McCauley is standing fast in her defence.
Cece Hodgson Mccauley says residential school was "best 10 years" of her life. - photo via YouTube |
Beyak was kicked off the the senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples last week by the Conservative Party after she said there were good deeds and other positive aspects to Canada's residential school system.
Liberal MP Michael McLeod, a residential school survivor himself, attended Aikaitcho Hall in Yellowknife in the 1970s.
"I was surprised to hear her say that after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission studied the whole issue of residential school for many years," McLeod said.
"It bothered me ... It now casts doubt on the whole senate committee's ability to do its job. Will people still come to testify in front of this committee with her on it."
McLeod, a Liberal, said the Conservatives did the right thing in removing Beyak from the committee. He stopped short of calling on her to resign from the red chamber.
"Conservative leader Rona Ambrose could have went further in removing her from the party. She's dug in her heels and certainly isn't going to resign on her own," McLeod said. "I would not be totally upset if she resigned."
McLeod said he understands how some residential schools survivors say the experience was not all negative for them and he defends their right to say that.
However, he said Beyak, as a non-indigenous person, should have been more measured in her comments.
"This is not about us as aboriginal people. We know what happened. We don't have to rejudge it," McLeod said. "You should be asking her to explain her actions and comments."
The MP said residential school survivors on the other hand, such as Cece Hodgson McCauley, have every right to say they enjoyed residential schools.
"I think Cece is perfectly in her right to state that. However, this senator has never experienced that. To stand on the sidelines and whitewash the history of aboriginal people is totally wrong with the limited understanding and involvement she apparently has," McLeod said.
Hodgson McCauley - who penned a column in last week's News/North which, in part, defended the embattled senator - said the controversy simply boils down to free speech and money.
She said Beyak has the right to speak her mind and the only reason aboriginal people have expressed outrage with her comments is because some of them are still seeking financial compensation from the federal government for their residential school experience.
She went to a residential school in McLeod's hometown of Fort Providence.
"I had 10 years in residential schools and it was the best 10 years of my life," Hodgson McCauley said. "Why shouldn't she speak out about it? She said she spent a lot of time with aboriginals.
"It makes more sense if white people, all people, know our stories. Why can't she say something. It's freedom of speech."
Hodgson McCauley said the Conservative Party "better put her back" on the committee.
She added she has received calls and letters over the years from elders who went to residential schools who enjoyed the experience but are afraid to say anything because they don't want to affect younger residential school survivors who are after a payout.
"The younger ones get mad at the elders because they don't want to hear the good side. The more they lie, the more money they get," said Hodgson McCauley.
She added she never felt she was being stripped of her indigenous heritage when she attended a residential school.
"How 'come the nuns used to let us go set rabbit snares? We used to love that. They'd cook it for us. They weren't trying to take the indian out of us," said Hodgson McCauley.
She said she does not agree with the MP's stance.
"I speak about white people. Nobody stops me. It's a free world," she said.
Hodgson McCauley said she will continue to be vocal about her positive residential school experience and may reach out to Beyak to let her know she agrees with her.
News/North reached out to NWT Senator Nick Sibbeston for comment on the Beyak controversy.
He had not responded as of press time.
