Tories call on Boissonnault to resign amid apology over Indigenous ancestry claims

Members of Parliament returned to Ottawa on Monday after a weeklong break with no sign of a resolution to the House stalemate, tempers ramped back up, and renewed calls for a Liberal cabinet minister to resign — or be fired.

The House of Commons has been mired in a filibuster for nearly two months now, as the Conservatives demand the government hand over documents to the RCMP in a case of alleged government misspending on a green technology fund. That continued Monday but in question period Conservative attention shifted to Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, who three days ago apologized for not being more clear about his Indigenous identity.

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He previously referred to himself as a "non-status adopted Cree" and said his great-grandmother was a "full-blooded Cree woman."

He said he'd confirm his great-grandmother's status, but his mother and brother are citizens of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

"I apologize if that particular way of referring to myself — I apologize that it was inaccurate," Boissonnault said at an Edmonton event on Nov. 15.

The National Post had also reported last week a company co-owned by Boissonnault unsuccessfully bid on two federal contracts in 2020 while identifying itself as Indigenous and Aboriginal-owned.

Monday in the House of Commons, seven different Conservative MPs peppered more than a dozen questions toward Boissonnault on the issue, who in turn delivered short-sentence responses in denying the allegations.

"He said he was Indigenous so he could get grants and contracts that were meant just for Indigenous people. Now, he admits he's not Indigenous at all," said Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre Monday.

"He said he was Indigenous to profit from government contracts, trying to steal from First Nations communities. When will the Prime Minister fire this phony for making false claims to steal from First Nations?" added Alberta Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, in one of several questions prompting an interjection from Speaker Greg Fergus about the choice of words.

"My colleague has addressed this issue and stated that those claims are false," government House leader Karina Gould said in response to Genuis.

"We addressed the fact that that business was never listed as an Indigenous business on the procurement site, and it in fact received no funding from the Government of Canada."

Outside of the House of Commons before question period, other Liberal MPs also came to Boissonnault's defence — among them Jaime Battiste, the party's only First Nations MP.

"For me, there was never a need to apologize because I always saw him as an Indigenous ally, not an Indigenous person," Batiste said, adding Boissonnault called him personally to discuss the situation.

"But for others that he may have told mistakenly that he was Indigenous, then yeah (an apology) could probably be something of value to them."

Speaking to reporters outside West Block, Conservative MP Michael Barrett called on Boissonnault to step down.

"Justin Trudeau doesn't seem to have the moral standing to be able to discipline members of his cabinet or caucus," Barrett said.

"Randy Boissonnault should resign. And if Justin Trudeau won't fire him, well when we have a carbon tax election Canadians will cast a judgement on this government."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024