Close X
Saturday, October 5, 2024
ADVT 
National

O'Toole pitches Tories as Canada Day defenders

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Jun, 2021 12:00 PM
  • O'Toole pitches Tories as Canada Day defenders

The Conservative Party of Canada is positioning itself as the defender of Canada Day, as more communities decide to skip celebrations out of respect for First Nations discovering unmarked burial sites at former residential schools.

Leaders in different cities and towns from across the country have called into question the appropriateness of holding fireworks and festivities on July 1 since the findings were first reported.

The most recent include the northern Manitoba town of Churchill and two Saskatchewan communities.

Cowessess First Nation east of Regina announced last week that ground- penetrating radar detected 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School. The news followed the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of 215 children at another former site in Kamloops, B.C.

Hours before the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations announced last Wednesday that the Cowessess First Nation had discovered a grave site, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole told his caucus in a speech that he can't stay silent when there are calls to cancel Canada Day.

He said reconciliation is not about tearing Canada down, and no country could stand up to close scrutiny of its legacy, but whatever pain felt from the wrongs committed in Canada should be used as motivation to build a better future.

On Saturday, the party put a question out on social media: "Who is asking Canadians whether they want Canada Day to be cancelled?"

O'Toole's remarks echo his position as the "true blue" candidate in last summer's race to lead the party, where he campaigned against "cancel culture" and removing statues from Canada's historical past.

After the discovery at Cowessess, Alberta Member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner took to social media late Friday to respond to an article headlined, "Indigenous people call on Calgary to scale back or cancel Canada Day celebrations."

"And we should listen," she wrote on Twitter, saying "political cost be damned."

She expanded on her thoughts with a Facebook post in which she said some may feel changing how Canada Day is marked could be detrimental to the country, but including thoughts for deceased Indigenous children and what needs to happen next "into a day on which we traditionally give gratitude for the good that exists in our nation is only right and just."

"We should be proud and grateful for the good that exists in our nation. But we cannot use that celebration as an excuse to continue to blind ourselves to a truth we have never adequately confronted, or allow it to exacerbate the pain of injustice; we must listen to Indigenous voices and act," Rempel Garner said in the post.

"On July 1, we can and should do both."

In an interview with Global's "The West Block" aired on Sunday, O'Toole also suggested he may be the only federal leader who's proud of Canada that's running to be the next prime minister in a general election many speculate may happen this year.

The leader also said in the interview that it appears Trudeau and some of his Liberal cabinet ministers "almost want to cancel Canada Day because we failed in the past," after those politicians stated July 1 should be a time of reflection.

Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller on Sunday tweeted, "It is one thing to reflect on celebration of Canada Day and quite another to turn Canada Day into a rallying cry designed to whip up a political base, particularly at a time when Indigenous Peoples are hurting."

A request for comment from O'Toole's office has yet to be returned, as have asks to hear from Saskatchewan Conservative MPs Cathay Wagantall and Gary Vidal, the party's critic for Indigenous services.

Both of their ridings include communities that have decided against holding July 1 celebrations.

MORE National ARTICLES

Singh blasts Liberal 'hypocrisy' on reconciliation

Singh blasts Liberal 'hypocrisy' on reconciliation
Singh says the Liberals are hoping to turn the page and celebrate their achievements on reconciliation with First Peoples today, on National Indigenous Peoples Day, but he believes they should instead be taken to task on their record.

Singh blasts Liberal 'hypocrisy' on reconciliation

Reports of shots fired near an elementary school in Burnaby

Reports of shots fired near an elementary school in Burnaby
A shooting took palce near an elementary school in Burnaby on Friday but the Burnaby RCMP say they haven't found any victims. Police were on scene at Armstrong Avenue near Cariboo Drive around 9 p.m., close to Armstrong Elementary School. 

Reports of shots fired near an elementary school in Burnaby

Shots fired in Surrey on Saturday night

Shots fired in Surrey on Saturday night
A shooting in Surrey, near 76 Ave and 128 St at close to 9:30pm on Saturday. There was a heavy police presence due to the incident at the intersection of 128th and 76th avenue.

Shots fired in Surrey on Saturday night

Two facing charges in murder of B.C. brothers

Two facing charges in murder of B.C. brothers
RCMP say two men have been charged in the double murder of two brothers in British Columbia's Okanagan region. The bodies of Erick and Carlos Fryer were found in a remote location near the town of Naramata.

Two facing charges in murder of B.C. brothers

Ottawa proposes restrictions on vaping flavours

Ottawa proposes restrictions on vaping flavours
The federal government says it wants to ban most flavoured vaping products in a bid to reduce their appeal to youth. Health Canada put forward draft regulations Friday that would restrict all e-cigarette flavours except tobacco, mint and menthol.    

Ottawa proposes restrictions on vaping flavours

Canadian Delta cases almost double this week

Canadian Delta cases almost double this week
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant jumped 66 per cent in Canada this week. Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said as of Friday there are just over 2,000 confirmed cases of the variant.

Canadian Delta cases almost double this week