Poilievre attacks senior First Nations leaders and dozens of elected officials calling on him to fire Gunn

Over the last 48 hours, calls for North Island-Powell River candidate Aaron Gunn to be removed have grown quickly.

Gunn has been under fire for a variety of offensive comments, including defending Vladimir Putin and arguing that his persecution of 2SLBGTQIA+ people was “small issue” that “the gay-rights lobby” was making a big deal of, denying the impact of residential schools, saying that Indigenous people asked for the schools, and more. (Link to posts)

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the BC First Nations Leadership Council, and the Regional Chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations have all called on Poilievre to take action.

25 Mayors and Councilors representing major communities in the region have signed a letter to Poilievre.

Asked about it today, Poilievre turned his guns on those leaders, accusing them of misinformation.

Richard Zussman: “I want to ask you about Aaron Gunn, one of your candidates here. There’s been a letter sent to the party and I’ll read it in part to you. Accusing Gunn of ‘denying the impacts of residential schools and the generational trauma and genocide experienced by First Nations people.’ There are other concerns raised about his candidacy. Local mayors have said that they don’t support him and don’t think he should be a Conservative candidate. Do you still stand by Aaron Gunn as your candidate on the North Island?”

Poilievre: “Yes, I do and the letter is false. He has not denied the impact of residential schools. That’s just misinformation.” (Video)

But in fact, Gunn said that conversations about the legacy of residential schools are “a steady and persistent attempt to discredit Canada’s past”, that some bands “asked for” residential schools, and that the use of the word ‘genocide’ “doesn’t remotely reflect the reality of what happened.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has called for Poilievre to fire Gunn.