Sen. Charles Adler (Manitoba) has expressed deep regret and shame over past racist comments he made on a Winnipeg radio station more than two decades ago.
Blacklock's Reporter says speaking on the podcast Real Talk With Ryan Jespersen, Adler described his disbelief and sorrow at his own words, which once labeled indigenous Manitobans as lazy and undeserving of respect.
“I can’t believe that based on what happened to my own people, my own heritage, that my hands would be soiled with this stuff,” Adler said, his voice breaking during the interview.
“Nobody put a gun to my head, telling me to say those things… I said them.”
Adler, a descendant of Hungarian Jews, reflected on inflammatory remarks he made in a series of 1999 commentaries on Radio CJOB. His language at the time was so incendiary that it prompted formal complaints to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
“I was stunned when I saw those remarks,” Adler said of reviewing his past broadcasts. “My first take when I saw them was this has got to be distorted. I couldn’t possibly have said that. That’s not me. But that was me.”
Adler admitted to calling First Nations people “lazy boneheads” and accusing them of wanting a “free ride through life.” He spoke of reserves as places of “uncivilized” behavior and criticized indigenous communities for their supposed lack of accountability.
“Every time we have a discussion with anyone in this country about things like bias, prejudice, hate, we always have to ask ourselves the question: Are we as human beings potentially doing the things that we’re accusing others of?” Adler said.
“And the answer at the end of the trail has to be yes. All human beings have the capacity to hate.”
Adler was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on August 17, 2023, despite protests from Indigenous leaders.
Angela Lavasseur, then-Acting Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc., described Adler’s past remarks as “vicious and racist,” adding, “The vile words and contempt he has spoken are so vicious they should be considered hate crimes.”
Reflecting on the pain caused by his words, Adler expressed deep remorse.
“For me to look at those words from 25 years ago and say, my God, I am saying these things about some of these people who have suffered the worst indignities in Canadian history,” Adler said.
“It’s Canada’s original sin. That’s what truth and reconciliation is all about.”
Adler acknowledged the damage done to his own reputation and legacy, admitting that his name will forever be associated with his past remarks.
“I was really ashamed that my name, which is my father’s name after all, was now forever going to be associated with those words,” he said.
In his closing remarks, Adler grappled with the nature of human prejudice. “I hate that about us, but I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that it’s true,” he said.