At Kelownasa国际传媒檚 Canada Day celebration, conservative leader Andrew Scheer said acknowledging Indigenous people on Canada Day is sa国际传媒渙bviously very important,sa国际传媒� while maintaining that Canada Day is still, nonetheless, a cause for celebration.

sa国际传媒淭his is a day for everyone to celebrate Canada whether we are Indigenous Canadians, whether our families have been here for multiple generations or if wesa国际传媒檝e literally just arrived,sa国际传媒� said Scheer.

That opinion may not represent many in the Indigenous community and it certainly did not bode well with Okanagan Indian Band Chief Byron Louis.

sa国际传媒淎s an individual, Isa国际传媒檇 say I cansa国际传媒檛 really support that (statement),sa国际传媒� said Louis. sa国际传媒�(Sure) itsa国际传媒檚 something we take as a statutory holiday, but once you start getting deeper as an Aboriginal person, there are bigger issues on celebrating a day that (oppressed our community). It gets a little cloudy.sa国际传媒�

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Tensions between the government and First Nations rose in 2017 when Canada celebrated its sesquicentennial birthday, with the trendy tag line, sa国际传媒淐anada 150.sa国际传媒� Indigenous people raised their voices and created an alternative, opposing campaign called, sa国际传媒淩ethink 150: Indigenous Truthsa国际传媒�; which encouraged Canadians to consider a different perspective on the extravagant marketing campaign.

Since then, the liberal government, in Louissa国际传媒� perspective, created momentum for the path to reconciliation; something that he isnsa国际传媒檛 quite convinced Scheer will carry on if elected prime minister.

READ MORE: RECAP: 10 Canada Day moments and videos yousa国际传媒檒l want to see

sa国际传媒淭he past conservative government was quite negative to our clan,sa国际传媒� said Louis, referring to sweeping budget cuts to First Nations communities across Canada.

sa国际传媒淥ur constitution has the treaty rights right in there and our party has supported a lot of the work in terms of reconciliation,sa国际传媒� said Scheer, citing former conservative prime minister Stephen Harpersa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渉istoric apologysa国际传媒� for residential schools over 10 years ago.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 one thing to mean (the apology),sa国际传媒� Louis responded, sa国际传媒渋tsa国际传媒檚 another thing to apologize because (we were) threatening to sue (the conservative party) and had a pretty good case.sa国际传媒�

Although Scheer said sa国际传媒渢heresa国际传媒檚 a lot of common ground (and) there are some areas that (theysa国际传媒檇) like to move forward on,sa国际传媒� Indigenous-government relations will be sa国际传媒渧ery positivesa国际传媒� if the conservatives take a majority government.

sa国际传媒淲e donsa国际传媒檛 know what hesa国际传媒檚 about,sa国际传媒� said Louis, recalling a number of incidents where he felt Scheer reported vague answers about Indigenous rights. sa国际传媒淚t does concern us.sa国际传媒�

READ MORE: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer calls out local MP during Canada Day

David.venn@kelownacapnews.com
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