MKO’s Grand Chief Garrison Settee responded to the Premier’s remarks regarding the restoration of two statues pulled down during a demonstration on Canada Day at the Manitoba legislature.

Settee condemned Pallister for his comments stating that the Premier missed the point and forgot that the demonstrations were for the Indigenous children and babies that were buried in unmarked graves at former residential school sites across the country.

He goes on to state that the Premier’s statement is  “nothing more than a deliberate attempt” to keep Manitobans in the dark about the province’s true history and leave it to future generations to reconcile.

Settee ended his statement by saying that it’s unfortunate and shameful for a Premier to make light of the deaths of thousands of children and the attempts by their families and all Indigenous Peoples to bring justice for them.

He adds that if Pallister, as the Premier of Manitoba, refuses to acknowledge the thousands of children killed in residential schools, then there can be no reconciliation.