Prime Minister Urged To Apologize To Aboriginals

Prime Minister Urged To Apologize To Aboriginals

Thursday, October 02, 2008 at 15:09

A Manitoba Liberal candidate has called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to apologize for a remark she says is hurtful to Aboriginal people.

Churchill candidate Tina Keeper says, in a recent CBC radio interview, Harper said some regional development agencies can go “off the reservation.”

Keeper says that term is insulting. She says it has been obsolete for years, because it creates negative stereotypes of Aboriginal people.

Keeper adds the comment is particularly hurtful, because earlier in the campaign, Harper said Aboriginal people were the first wave of immigrants to Canada.

But a spokesperson in Harper’s office says “off the reservation” is a commonly-used phrase that even Barack Obama has used.