Beyak says Scheer never asked her to remove posts
OTTAWA— Ousted Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak blasted Andrew Scheer Monday, denying the Conservative leader asked her to remove racist letters from her personal Senate website. Scheer announced Thursday he had removed Beyak from the Conservative caucus, citing letters posted by the senator defending her controversial views on the legacy of residential schools.
In a statement, Scheer called some of the posts racist, unacceptable and offensive, and demanded Beyak remove them. His office claimed when she refused, Scheer expelled her from the party. On Monday, Beyak said no such demand was made.
“Contrary to his statement, that he asked me to remove content and I refused, neither I nor my staff ever spoke with Andrew Scheer,” Beyak’s statement read.
Beyak went on to attack Scheer directly, calling him an “inexperienced leader” who won last year’s leadership race by a “slim margin.”
“We deserve better leadership other than the current choices, who are mired in, or hampered by, political correctness,” her statement read.
Beyak did not respond to an interview request Monday. When contacted by the Star, Scheer’s director of media relations, Jake Enwright, refused to say how the Tory leader conveyed his demand to Beyak.
A spokesperson for Conservative Senate Leader Larry Smith declined further comment Monday.
The letters in question were posted by Beyak in support of controversial comments the senator made in 2017. Speaking in the Senate, Beyak heralded the “good works” of “wellintentioned” administrators of residential schools, where 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced to study under the Christian churches.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined that the residential school system, in addition to the widespread and well-documented abuse of Indigenous children, amounted to a “cultural genocide.” It is estimated more than 3,000 children died in residential schools.
Some of the letters posted by Beyak push derogatory stereotypes of Indigenous peoples in Canada, and en- courage the Ontario senator to continue speaking about Indigenous issues.
Beyak’s comments, and her letters of support, have been widely denounced. On Friday, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde told the Star he wants the Senate ethics committee to take up the matter.
The Liberal cabinet ministers responsible for Indigenous issues, Jane Philpott and Carolyn Bennett, have written to Scheer and Smith — as well as the leadership of other parties in the Senate — asking that the comments posted on Beyak’s site be removed.
“We believe that the material on Senator Beyak’s website should be removed as it is an obstacle to eradicating racism and engaging all Canadians on the journey of reconciliation,” the ministers wrote in a statement.
Beyak said she would continue to post “thoughtful ideas” on her site.