Following the apology Premier Brian Pallister issued this week regarding the comments he made on residential schools last month, MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee is calling on him to resign.

 

Settee echoes the criticisms levied by fellow Indigenous leaders, stating Pallister’s wording implies he’s simply sorry that listeners misunderstood the intentions of his comments.

 

In July, Pallister said people who arrived to Canada didn’t come to the country to destroy but to build, which resulted in MLA Eileen Clarke stepping down as Indigenous Relations Minister.

 

The Premier explained in a press conference on Tuesday that he wasn’t trying to praise colonialism, and was trying to appeal to people to build the future together.

 

Settee says Pallister’s comments on working with Indigenous leaders rings hollow, as he hasn’t had a meeting with the Premier since April of last year which lasted five minutes.

 

He goes on to state Pallister’s apology doesn’t go far enough, and the Premier continues to make it clear that he isn’t interested in advancing reconciliation