The province’s First Nations and Metis Relations Critic is speaking out against recent racist comments she received.
On Tuesday evening, NDP MLA Betty Nippi-Albright shared a derogatory message she received on social media.
(Above Photo: A tweet shared by Betty Nippi-Albright on Tuesday sharing a racist message she received.)
Nippi-Albright says she receives these kinds of comments whenever she is in the news over her role as First Nations and Metis Critic at the assembly. She recently called on the provincial government to update their Duty to Consult policy and believes these comments were in response to that.
“The more vocal I am getting, the more aggressive people are getting,” she told MBC News on Wednesday adding she receives these comments frequently. “Basically, that I shouldn’t speak up… I should just be quiet and we should be happy as Indigenous people that the government is trying to do something.”
While Nippi-Albright says she usually deletes these comments, she felt compelled to publicly share this one to ensure action is put in place to prevent these comments.
“As long as it’s just between me and whoever is sending it and I am not saying anything about it, it will keep going,” she said. “I just felt like enough is enough and I have to bring this out into the public and show this is actually happening to me.”
Going forward the Saskatoon MLA and member of Kiniston Saulteaux Nation believes a combination of citizens speaking out and the provincial government putting in “tougher” legislation will help prevent these types of comments.
“I think it is time this province starts taking a stand and we need to start with legislation to say this is wrong, this is not acceptable for anybody elected or not to be facing in this day and age and we will be holding people accountable,” she said.
The following is a statement from the Government of Saskatchewan provided to MBC News on the matter:
“Racism and hate have no place in Saskatchewan. We urge anyone who believes a hate crime has taken place to contact police. Public Prosecutions will review any evidence that is brought forward by police.
The Ministry of Education provides opportunities to address bullying in schools. In addition to having at least one staff member trained in Mental Health First Aid in each school within all of Saskatchewan’s 27 school divisions by December 2021, the ministry is also allocating $578,000 to support initiatives related to bullying prevention, positive mental health and student safety including Kids Help Phone, Be Kind Online and Kids Have Stress Too! Resources.
In Saskatchewan curricula, there are opportunities for students to learn about safety, health and well-being. Specific concepts related to the mental health impacts of online behaviour, including recognizing warning signs and symptoms, accessing supports, and building healthy relationships can be found throughout the grade levels.
Digital Citizenship Education in Saskatchewan Schools is a document created in response to one of six recommendations contained in the Saskatchewan Action Plan to Address Bullying and Cyberbullying to help support digital citizenship education for all students in Saskatchewan. The promotion of digital citizenship education is a key component of a coordinated strategy to address cyberbullying.”
(Top Photo: Betty Nippi-Albright courtesy Twitter @BettyNippi)