‘That’s pretty much racism’: Opposition slams Pallister’s latest comments on night hunting

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This article was published 26/01/2017 (2793 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister’s accusations that most night hunting is carried out by young indigenous men with criminal records is racism, New Democrat MLA Amanda Lathlin charged Friday morning.

“That’s pretty much racism, and irresponsible. He’s adding to the negative stereotype, that all of us aboriginal people have criminal records,” Lathlin said in an interview.

“Wow,” The Pas MLA said. “That’s shocking, and I’m ashamed of that.”

Maclean’s magazine published Thursday an interview conducted with Pallister at his Costa Rica vacation home earlier this week. In it, the premier expanded on controversial comments he made last week in Virden that night hunting is becoming a race war.

Maclean’s quoted Pallister as saying: “Young Indigenous men — a preponderance of them are offenders, with criminal records — are going off shooting guns in the middle of the night. It doesn’t make sense.”

Lathlin said Pallister needs immediately to apologize — and take awareness training of indigenous culture.

Pallister’s office did not directly address his reported comments Friday but issued a statement that the premier is reaching out to indigenous people over the paramount issue of protecting the safety and security of all Manitobans.

But the premier’s office also made public the names and community addresses of 27 of the 44 people charged in 2016 with night hunting — the other 17 were underage, or the charges are still being processed, said Pallister spokesperson Olivia Baldwin-Valainis.

She said that in the previous five years, 77.5 per cent of the people charged with night hunting in Manitoba had treaty status.

She could not immediately say how many of them have been convicted, or how many of those charged or convicted were young indigenous men with criminal records.

Of the 27 persons charged whose names and communities the Pallister government made public Friday, there are no ages listed, there is no indication which of the accused are indigenous, and there is no indication which, if any, has a criminal record. None has been convicted to date.

Five appear to have first names traditionally given to women. There are 14 who live on First Nations, the rest mainly live in rural communities, some extremely tiny, with one each from Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie. 

What’s clear is that Pallister is completely ignorant about indigenous people and about being himself a treaty person, University of Manitoba acting head of native studies Prof. Niigaan Sinclair said Friday. “These stereotypes have a long and violent history of demonizing indigenous people.

“He clearly has no understanding of what it means to carry treaty responsibility in our community,” Sinclair said in an interview. 

“Releasing the addresses seems to be particularly offensive,” Sinclair said. Many of the people charged are exercising treaty rights and won’t be convicted, he said: “In many of these situations, these are legal situations. We shouldn’t assume they are breaking the law.”

Lathlin said that just when reconciliation seems to be gaining ground, “The premier’s comments just took us a huge step backwards.”

Lathlin challenged Pallister to provide evidence to prove what he’s saying is true.

Interim Liberal leader Judy Klassen said that even though young indigenous men are over-represented in jails and prisons, “That doesn’t mean we all have criminal records.”

Klassen said Pallister has again made “very stereotypical comments, that as leader of the province he shouldn’t be saying, very racial in nature.”

Klassen urged Pallister to meet with elders and grassroots people. “There are a lot of hurt Manitobans,” she said.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca