Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, ON) is defending his decision to speak with Frontier Centre for Public Policy (FCPP), a think tank that has been criticized for their comments on residential schools..“We speak with groups all the time with which we disagree,” Poilievre said in an interview after his speech. “I obviously support reconciliation and I believe that residential schools are an ugly and horrific blight on our history of the country.”.Poilievre’s speech to the think tank on Friday was part of a daylong visit to Winnipeg, MB, where a byelection may soon happen fill the Winnipeg South Centre seat held by recently deceased Liberal MP Jim Carr..The FCPP first came under fire in 2018, when it ran radio ads and published a commentary that said the idea residential schools robbed indigenous children of their childhood was a myth. The ads were pulled nine days after they went on the air..The author of the commentary was FCPP research associate Mark DeWolfe, a retired teacher who attended St. Paul's Indian Residential School on the Kainai reserve near Cardston, AB for six years. .Then last summer, the centre posted a commentary article on its website that said stories about murdered and buried residential schoolchildren are suspicious, if not false. The website has also posted articles that defended research into the connections between race and IQ, as well as an article that criticized "anti-white male policies.".Before introducing Poilievre on Friday, FCPP President Peter Holle said the think tank is determined to "challenge false narratives," and acknowledged that some of its articles "might rub you the wrong way.".Soon after meeting with the FCPP, Poilievre was roundly criticized by Liberal and NDP politicians. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, BC) accused Poilievre of "platforming one of the most vicious [residential school] deniers in the country.".Minister of Crown-Indigenous relations Marc Miller (Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île-des-Sœurs, QC), pointed out that Poilievre has previously apologized or saying residential school survivors should learn the value of hard work. "Today’s stunt puts into question that apology,” he said on Twitter..Federal Liberal cabinet minister Dan Vandal (St. Boniface, MB) accused Poilievre of promoting ideas and organizations that do not represent Winnipeg or Manitoba..Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said it was "ignorant" to downplay the harms of residential schools. "I condemn any association with denialist views and the deep hurt they cause our survivors and their families," she said..Poilievre shot back at his detractors, saying Liberal and NDP politicians in the past have also spoken to the FCPP..His staff provided examples, including former federal finance minister Paul Martin giving an interview to the centre 21 years ago. Former governor general and Manitoba NDP Premier Ed Schreyer also spoke at A FCPP luncheon in 2013, nearly three decades after he last held office..Poilievre also compared the situation to Singh’s support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government, after Trudeau admitted to having used blackface and brownface in costumes when he was younger.
