People's Party of Canada flyer distributed in Vancouver compares vaccine passports to residential school system
The B.C. Assembly of First Nations is calling for the removal of a People's Party of Canada candidate in Vancouver over a flyer comparing vaccine passports to the residential school system.
The flyer was distributed to homes in the riding of Vancouver-Quadra, and features a picture taken at a residential school in the 1800s on the front with the words "DISCRIMINATION IS WRONG" and "NO VACCINE PASSPORT."
The other side contains information about PPC candidate Renate Siekmann and misinformation related to COVID-19.
Asked for comment, Siekmann referred CTV News to her Twitter feed, where she doubled down on her decision to distribute the flyer. "This analogy may make some uncomfortable or angry but this is a hard and important conversation to have," she wrote, adding that approximately 52,000 flyers had gone out
On Wednesday afternoon, the BCAFN called on Siekmann's party to remove her as a candidate.
“Claiming that a public health measure, such as a vaccine passport, is somehow comparable or equivalent to violent and genocidal practices is harmful and repugnant," BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee wrote in a statement.
Carey Newman, the artist who created the Witness Blanket, a national monument made in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee's findings that the residential school system amounted to cultural genocide, told CTV News the campaign material is "offensive."
"Anything that invokes residential schools as a comparison to inconvenience fails to recognize the fundamental difference between being asked to get vaccinated or wear a mask to protect each other, and being forcibly removed from your home, family and culture," Newman said in a statement.
He added that Indigenous people survived the 1918 pandemic and small pox and so know the importance of protecting the collective well-being.
"Our lives are overlapping and our actions have implications for others. When those actions result actual harms and death, we have the responsibility not to let our own wants infringe upon the health and freedoms of others," Newman said.
Jennifer Malcolm, who lives in Vancouver, contacted CTV News after receiving the pamphlet. She called the content "bigoted" and "upsetting." Another woman said it was disturbing and offensive.
The flyer was distributed amid a new upswell of grief and anger over Canada's residential school system. The discovery of unmarked graves on a number of former school sites confirmed what Indigenous communities knew for years: that many of the children who were forced to attend never returned home.
The Vancouver-Quadra riding stretches from the University of British Columbia to Arbutus Street, and from Point Grey to Vancouver International Airport. It also includes the Musqueam Indian Band.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.