No reconciliation with Beyak in Senate
Re Calls grow for ouster of senator, Sept. 23 For anyone who is the least bit familiar with the history of the residential schools, there is no question around Sen. Lynn Beyak’s place in government. She does not have one.
She does not deserve a platform for her disgusting racist rhetoric, she does not deserve a six-figure salary or the stature of senator; she does not deserve the public’s trust.
She is not listening, she is not learning, she is continuing to spread harm, shame and a direct and damaging affront to the lived reality of residential school survivors. That the Conservative Party continues to support her speaks volumes about the Conservative Party and our government as a whole.
Keeping Beyak in the caucus and in the senate is not only putting the comfort of Senator Beyak and the party above the dignity of survivors, it is sending those survivors and the Indigenous communities who continue to survive alongside them a direct message: We. Don’t. Care.
There is no reconciliation with someone like Lynn Beyak in government, there is no nation-to-nation respect, there is just one more government representative saying Indigenous lives, voices and experiences don’t matter.
Once again, we learn there is no accountability, there is no oversight, there is no desire for any kind of real change. It’s sickening, it’s unacceptable, it needs to stop.
Senator Beyak needs to go. Molly Johnson, Toronto
I am shocked and appalled at Sen. Beyak’s open letter on her website. Ignorant, backward, racist and offensive to all Canadians, she should be removed from the Senate, not just excused from the Conservative caucus temporarily.
The idea that she is good political fodder in a future election is also unacceptable. Racism is not a card to be used. Her remarks are untrue and damaging to us all right now.
Do not let this issue fade away — deal with it today. Get her out now to send a message to the world about Canadian values and the future we want for us all. Debora Selinger, Toronto