Press release from the Homalco Nation
In a press release in February, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives included a quote from Chief Darren Blaney of the Homalco First Nation in a news release regarding their plan for a First Nations Resource Charge (FNRC) without consultation or consent. This was only recently brought to the attention of leadership. The Chief and Council unequivocally denounce the use of this and any future quotes of their leadership without proper consultation and call on the Conservatives to remove any Homalco-related quotes from past, current and future new releases.
This revelation comes on the heels of calls for Aaron Gunn, the Conservative candidate in the federal riding in which the Homalco community reside, to be dropped from the election campaign. Social media posts from the recent past indicate that Gunn holds extreme views regarding residential schools, minimizing the history and trauma caused by residential schools, attacking 2SLGBTQ+ people, and sympathizing with warmonger Putin. We join other leaders today in calling for the removal of Aaron Gunn from the Conservative Party.
While Homalco First Nation is open to the idea of changes in how Nation can benefit from the resources that exist within their territories and is actively pursuing resource projects within our own Nation to support our people, we cannot support a party which platforms individuals that perpetuate generational trauma and harm.
“I’m deeply disturbed that the Conservative Party would use my voice, my words and my name without my consent,” says Chief Blaney. “As a residential school survivor myself, what Gunn has said and what the Conservative Party is doing by backing him as theirPeople of the Fast-Running Waters candidate takes focus away from the true and lived experience of residential school survivors, and communities who still are reeling from the genocide they’ve faced. I cannot in good faith stay silent on this. ”
About Homalco First Nation
Χʷomaɬkʷu (Homalco) are the People of the fast-running waters, referring to the many rapids and rivers located within the unceded Χʷomaɬkʷu territory. Our ancestral tongue is ayʔaǰuθɛm, from the Salishan language family. We are the descendants of the ancestors who survived the Great Flood by tying their canoes to the top of Paʔɬmɩn̓ (Place that Grows), known by many today as Estero Peak. We are the stewards and protectors of the land, water, and resources located within Χʷomaɬkʷu territory, which includes Campbell River, Discovery Islands, and the Bute Inlet. Χʷomaɬkʷu People have occupied, controlled, and benefitted from these lands, waters, and resources since time immemorial.