First Nations leaders call for removal of B.C. Conservatives candidate for Powell River-Sunshine Coast, John Henderson.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) said Tuesday that Henderson perpetuated residential school denialism rhetoric during his tenure as mayor of Sechelt.
The UBCIC and the shíshálh Nation had called on Henderson to resign as mayor in 2024.
That was after Henderson voted against a Sechelt District Council motion to reject residential school denialism.
The motion was passed without his support.
The controversy also involved Henderson bringing a copy of Grave Error, a book criticized for questioning documented evidence about residential schools, to municipal hall and discussing it with senior staff.
Henderson declined to step down at the time.
“I have never denied the existence of residential schools. Not their existence, not the fact that they caused pain and suffering to people, and not the existence of graves,” Henderson said during an Oct. 16, 2024, council meeting.
“I have sat with elders, I’ve sat with people that have attended residential schools. I’ve heard their stories and I accept their truth,” he said. “I remain committed to dialogue, that’s the way forward.”
The Conservatives announced Henderson as their candidate on Oct. 1, one day after the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and less than a month after he withdrew from this year’s mayoral race.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said the announcement, one day after the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, “felt like a slap in the face.”
“As the UBCIC Chiefs-in-Assembly have noted, the pain of Residential School denialism is deeply offensive and compounds the suffering that generations of survivors have already endured and has no place in public discourse,” said Phillip in a statement.
“Particularly concerning is the dissemination of misinformation and harmful denialism by individuals elected to public office. No individual should be acclaimed by any party when they have perpetuated Residential School denialism, including Mr. Henderson,” he said.
The UBCIC said Henderson has not apologized for the 2024 incidents.
A Conservative party spokesperson called it a “contrived attack” and said Henderson addressed the issues raised by UBCIC two years ago, pointing to his previous comments to the council.
Vista News has also reached out to Henderson for comment.
“It is clear that the Conservative Party takes little issue with extreme and harmful views,” said B.C. NDP candidate for Langford-Highlands Ravi Parmar. “John Henderson’s residential school denialism was publicly known when [interim leader] Lorne Doerkson approved him as a candidate.”
The calls come days after the United Association of Muslims and the BC Muslim Association called for the Conservatives to remove Katy Merrifield as campaign director over her past anti-Islam social media posts.
In posts published in June, Merrifield allegedly used profanity directed at Islam, described the religion as an “abhorrent ideology” and said “Islam is a literal rape culture.”
Merrifield has said she made the posts after reading a report about children being groomed and sexually abused by gangs in the United Kingdom.
The report was published in June by Restore Britain, a far-right, anti-immigration party led by Rupert Lowe.
“As a woman and a rape survivor, I was brought to tears reading the horrific accounts of the UK grooming gang scandals,” said Merrifield. “I took down my original post within hours because my anger was directed at the extremism used to justify these horrific crimes, not at Muslims or their faith.”
B.C. NDP Leader David Eby over the weekend called on Doerkson to fire Merrifield over the comments.
Conservative candidate for Surrey City Centre Zeeshan Wahla defended Merrifield in a statement Saturday.
“I want to be clear that the language used in Ms. Merrifield’s original post from several months ago was unacceptable. She also swiftly acknowledged that and made it clear her reaction was informed by her past sexual trauma,” said Wahla.
“Islam teaches us to respond to anger with peace and to forgive when people act out of ignorance or rage. When someone makes a mistake and seeks forgiveness, we walk that path together,” he said.
Last week, Doerkson dropped the party’s candidate for Victoria-Beacon Hill over resurfaced social media posts containing racist language and apparent support for violence.
Joachim Agou apologized in a statement and said some of his older posts no longer reflect his views.
He said he would continue running in Victoria-Beacon Hill despite losing the party’s endorsement.
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