Thread by @connie_walker

Sen. Lynn Beyak broke Senate’s code of conduct by posting racist letters about Indigenous people online, ethics officer says /via @globeandmail theglobeandmail.com/canada/article…

Legault says he proposed that Beyak delete the racist letters from her website, post a formal apology and complete a cultural-sensitivity course with an emphasis on Indigenous issues, but she hasn’t done any of those things.

Beyak posted the letters to show she had support for her argument that Indian residential schools did good for FN children, although many suffered physical & sexual abuse & thousands died from disease/malnutrition. Legault concluded that 5 of the letters contained racist content.

Full report: sen.parl.gc.ca/seo-cse/PDF/In…

It includes submissions from Beyak to the Ethics Officer: “In her interview, Senator Beyak expressed the view that racism does not exist in Canada. She testified that those who say racism exists in our society are seeking to divide Cdns.”

“In my view, there is no racism in Canada. Right now there are groups trying to divide us, by saying that we have racism against indigenous people, Ukrainian, white privilege - I find those people racist. Those who seek to divide us are the racists. The rest of us are Canadians.“

“However, in her second interview, she conceded that there is in fact racism in Canada but that the overwhelming majority of Cdns are not racist. Senator Beyak argued that the term “racism” is a subjective term & that what one person thinks is racism is not what another thinks.”

“Senator Beyak claimed that she did not receive a single letter that was critical of the letters posted on her website. The facts do not support this. Rather, some of the letters that Senator Beyak provided to me were in fact critical of certain letters posted on her website.”

“Overall, I found that Senator Beyak’s testimony demonstrated a lack of awareness about racism in Cdn society. I also found that there were a number of inconsistencies in her oral testimony & her written submissions & that she altered her positions at different points in time.”

“I received overwhelming support. Many people wrote me telling their personal stories & how going to a Residential School was a positive experience... I’ve discovered that numerous people, who actually read my remarks, sent an avalanche of support from across our great nation.”

“Senator Beyak’s statements in her oral testimony that, when read in their entirety, the Letters are not racist in any way illustrates that she fails to understand that racism can exist within a passage or form part of a statement. Racism can be found in a single word.”

“In her first interview on April 18, Senator Beyak questioned the definition of racism – which she argues may be personal in nature. Throughout this interview, I provided multiple opportunities for her to consider the elements of the Letters and the complaints against her...”

“...Rather than engage in discussion as to whether the Letters may be harmful and promote racist sentiments, Senator Beyak asserted that she is not certain what racism is while at the same time insisted that the Letters are not racist.”

Are any of the letters racist and/or hateful towards Indigenous people?
“...I am the opinion that the views expressed in some of them include racist content... While some of the content is racist, I am of the view that it is not so extreme as to meet the test for hate speech...”

“Has Senator Beyak upheld the “highest standards of dignity inherent to the position of Senator”?

I have concluded that Senator Beyak has failed to uphold those standards.”

Has Senator Beyak acted “in a way that could reflect adversely on the Senate”?

“Senator Beyak used the weight & prestige of that office to widely disseminate comments that were offensive & racist towards Indigenous people, giving the comments more weight and more authority...”

“By posting the letters that I have determined contain racist content, has Senator Beyak performed her parliamentary duties & functions with dignity, honour & integrity?

I have found that Senator Beyak’s conduct in posting the Letters was both undignified & dishonourable.”

This section is a bit confusing but it seems Legault found Beyak violated section 7.2 but he doesn’t conclude that she acted in “...a manner that lacked integrity” b/c her purpose in posting the letters wasn’t to “promote racism” because she “fails to understand what racism is.”

“Sen. Beyak assured me that she didn’t intend to be racist & that if she thought the Letters were racist, she wouldn’t have posted them. The fact that that she chose not to post other letters that were more strongly worded & more objectionable tended to confirm what she told me.”

CONCLUSION
“As set out above, I have concluded that Senator Beyak breached sections 7.1 and 7.2 of the Code in posting 5 letters on her Senate website that contained racist content.”

“I identified three remedial measures that, if all three were carried out, would be acceptable to me:”

Beyak has rejected all three of Legault’s remedial measures which included removing the letters from her website, apologizing for posting them and completing a cultural sensitivity course ‘with an emphasis on Indigenous issues.’

He says her refusal to remove the letters ‘is an aggravating factor’ & “is relevant to the consideration of remedial measures under subsection 48(14) of the Code & the recommendations that may be made by the Committee to the Senate, pursuant to subsection 49(4) of the Code.”

So, what are those poss recommendations?
- reduction or removal of access to Senate resources;
- removal of assignments, duties or powers
- a limitation on the right to speak or vote;
- an invitation or order to apologize
- a censure, admonition or reprimand; or
- a suspension

In “Appendix B” are points that Senator Beyak asked be included in the report —which if you’ve come this far, you’ll want to read:
1. Beyak wanted the letters to be described as “compassionate”, “thoughtful” & “edgy”
2. Some of her family & friends are “of Aboriginal background”

Some Beyak’s additional points:
2. Some of her family members are “of Aboriginal background” & that she has “many friends who are Aboriginal”
3. Beyak thinks the introduction of the Truth & Reconciliation report was “racist in relation to white people.”

sen.parl.gc.ca/seo-cse/PDF/In…

On March 1st, after reviewing a draft of this report by the Senate Ethics Officer, Beyak added more submissions calling for the commissioners of the TRC to apologize “to all they offended with their bias.” She goes on to allege that the TRC report “contains patent falsehoods.”

Beyak: “Do we need sensitivity training for the commissioners of the report whose reverse racism is appalling, so they more fully understand racism in Canada, & how hurtful their remarks are to Cdns who acknowledge the abuse, have apologized & compensated with their tax dollars?”

TRC commissioners Senator Murray Sinclair, Dr. Marie Wilson & Chief Wilton Littlechild travelled across the country for six years, hearing from 6,000 witnesses (mostly survivors) about their experiences in residential schools.

Read the TRC report: nctr.ca/reports.php

From the TRC summary report: “Children were abused, physically and sexually, and they died in the schools in numbers that would not have been tolerated in any school system anywhere in the country, or in the world.” nctr.ca/assets/reports…

You can find Senator Lynn Beyak’s bio on her website: lynnbeyak.sencanada.ca/p106747 and you can also read the letters the Senate Ethics officer found to be racist and in violation of the Senate’s conflict-of-interest code. She was asked to remove them but has refused.