Beatty Takes Issue With Boarding School Rejection

Beatty Takes Issue With Boarding School Rejection

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 16:36

The Liberal candidate in the recent by-election in northern Saskatchewan doesn’t like the way the federal government has handled the Ile-a-la-Crosse boarding school situation.

Joan Beatty says she has questions about the timing of the government’s announced decision to not add the school to the residential school settlement agreement.

Local Metis leaders have speculated the government may have held off announcing its decision until after the by-election, which was won by the Conservatives’ Rob Clarke.

Beatty says the way former students heard the news was “so disrespectful” and “very disheartening”.

As far as the government is concerned, she hopes “it’s not the beginning of doing things in such an underhanded way”.

Beatty also doesn’t believe the government has a good reason to deny the former students compensation.

Clarke has not been immediately available for comment.