Former vice chief of UBCIC calls for removal of Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn

The former vice-chief of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is calling on Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to remove his candidate Aaron Gunn from the campaign after a number of social media posts about residential schools resurfaced. “When I see someone like Aaron Gunn espousing what I see as racist comments-denialism of the impacts of residential schools on First Nations, it’s appalling, it’s disgusting, it’s offensive,” Bob Chamberlin told APTN News. Gunn is running in the riding of North Island-Powell River. APTN reached out to Gunn’s campaign team and were told the request for an interview would be forwarded to Gunn, but we didn’t hear back. The UBCIC is an advocacy organization representing First Nations in B.C. Chamberlin, who was also a one time federal candidate for the NDP, said Poilievre needs to say whether he supports his candidate. “I believe that Canadians need to understand that the Conservatives welcome these types of people into their party, and I think the leader needs to be asked does he support these statements,” Chamberlin said. APTN reached out to Gunn and was informed our message had been forwarded “to the rest of the team for consideration,” but did not hear back. When contacted by APTN, Conservative campaign spokesperson, Sam Lilly, said in an emailed statement that Gunn has been “clear in recognizing the truly horrific events that transpired in residential schools, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is simply false.” APTN asked where Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre stands on the issue of residential schools being a genocide and Lilly quoted Poilievre’s comments made to the AFN Assembly in July, 2024. “For decades, the residential school system removed children from the love and care of their families. It was a monstrous abuse of excessive governmental power that cut your children off from their cultures, languages, and traditions. In many cases, students were neglected and abused tragically. Too many young children never came home,” Poilievre told the Assembly. “In 2008, the federal government under then Prime Minister Harper issued an apology and launched the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but there is more work to be done. I know that Canada has no future without a strong future for the First Nations people.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in its final report, “concluded that residential schools were a systematic, government- sponsored attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages and to assimilate Aboriginal peoples so that they no longer existed as distinct peoples.” The TRC characterized this intent as “cultural genocide.” In 2020, Gunn clearly denied the residential school system was genocide in another tweet. There was no genocide. Stop lying to people and read a book. The Holocaust was a genocide. Get off Twitter and learn more about the world. https://t.co/YFp76pe4LF — Aaron Gunn (@AaronGunn) October 22, 2020 “There was no genocide. Stop lying to people and read a book. The Holocaust was a genocide. Get off Twitter and learn more about the world,” Gunn said in an Oct. 20, 2022 tweet. “I understand that people have a misinformed view of history which they have reached following a steady and persistent attempt to discredit Canada’s past in order to undermine its institutions and future.” This is not the first time Gunn’s tweets on the subject got him in hot water. In 2021, Gunn was not allowed to run for the provincial Liberal Party in B.C. “For those wondering what the “official” explanation was for why my candidacy was rejected (as communicated to me by the BC Liberal Party itself) it was that I committed the “unforgiveable sin” of refusing to call Canada a genocidal state on 3 separate occasions over twitter,” Gunn tweeted. In March, the issue of denialism led the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) in British Columbia to call on Canada to enact a law that would ban people from publicly denying the experience of residential school survivors. The FNLC said it is “deeply concerned by the rise of Residential School denialism in the province, particularly the egregious misuse of public office by elected officials using their platforms to sow public doubt and promote misinformation and anti-Indigenous racism.” The council is calling on the federal government to “prioritize implementation of federal legislation to protect against Residential School denialism, as has been done with Bill C-19 which criminalized Holocaust denialism in Canada.” Bill C-413 introduced by MP Leah Gazan last year, attempted to do just that, but it only made it through a first reading. “This enactment amends the Criminal Code to create an offence of willfully promoting hatred against Indigenous peoples by condoning, denying, downplaying or justifying the Indian residential school system in Canada through statements communicated other than in private conversation.” Chamberlin said Gunn should be “plucked from the ballot” like others who have been removed for making “disparaging remarks.” Dallas Brodie, who served as an MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena was turfed by the B.C. Conservative party after posting on social media that “zero” burials have been confirmed at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Continue Reading