Skeena MLA Ellis Ross has responded to comments made by North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice regarding Aboriginal governance.
Rice made comments online in which she called the elected band council system a “colonial construct with the historic intention of annihilating Canada’s First Peoples”.
She also called for the government to work with both elected and hereditary chiefs in the future.
In a letter sent to Premier John Horgan today, Ross calls these comments “dangerous, and potentially damaging if they represent the government’s official policy”.
Ross went on to call the comments shocking, saying that they detract from the legitimacy of the province’s dealings with band councils and with the authority of elected chiefs.
Ross penned the letter with the intent of receiving clarification on whether Rice’s comments represent the beliefs of the provincial government.
