Rescind Adler’s Senate appointment: Indigenous leaders By: Maggie Macintosh Posted: 4:42 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 Last Modified: 10:34 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 Updates

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Indigenous leaders — including the only Manitoba representative in the federal cabinet — are calling into question the Senate appointment of longtime broadcaster Charles Adler.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced over the weekend Adler was one of two new independent senators appointed by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

The Hungary-born senator, a son of Holocaust survivors, has made a name for himself as a radio host and, more recently, a columnist for the Free Press.

His public commentary, spanning 50 years, has sparked concerns about his new role in politics.

“There are many eminently qualified Manitobans who are better suited to represent our province than Charles Adler,” Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal (Saint Boniface—Saint Vital) said in a statement Monday.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak are asking Ottawa to rescind the appointment.

Both groups flagged Adler’s past categorization of Indigenous peoples as uncivilized “boneheads” during a radio segment that was aired on Winnipeg AM station 680 CJOB about 25 years ago.

“It was not acceptable then. It’s not acceptable now,” AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick told the Free Press.

Merrick called the Senate choice “insulting” to all First Nations people in Canada.

“We’re at a time of reconciliation with our people. We need to be respected … (This appointment) is a clear indication that the voices and concerns of First Nations citizens are being disregarded at the highest levels of government,” she added.

During the 1999 Adler On Line episode, speaking about the unemployment rate on First Nations, Adler said law and order does not exist on reserves.

“If people want to get off and out of those ghettos and live in democratic society, there are jobs available,” he said at the time, before making a sweeping generalization about chiefs being “boneheads.”

The AMC filed a complaint about the episode with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. The self-regulating organization dismissed the matter in 2000.

Merrick drew parallels between Adler’s comments and the behaviour of former senator Lynn Beyak.

Beyak, who retired early from the Senate in 2021 amid public pressure, frequently faced criticism for her inflammatory statements about residential schools.

The former northwestern Ontario representative suggested there was “good” in the residential school system and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s work was unbalanced.

When reached, Adler declined to comment on his track record.

The new appointee is the sixth Manitoba representative in the Senate. He joins Speaker of the Senate Raymonde Gagné, Don Plett, Mary Jane McCallum, Marilou McPhedran and Gigi Osler — only one of whom responded to requests for comment Monday.

McPhedran, an independent senator, said she has “high regard” for the AMC leadership and believes their concerns merit attention by the prime minister.

In a news release, the prime minister’s office celebrated Adler’s use of his platform “to champion human rights and Canadian democracy.”

MKO acting grand chief Angela Levasseur said in a statement Adler’s biography does not acknowledge the complaints that have been filed against him during his career.

Levasseur said she was appalled someone “who has such a disregard for the plight of our people” has been tapped for such a prestigious role.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew took to social media to congratulate Adler shortly after his appointment was announced.

“Wishing him all the best in his important role representing Manitoba in the Senate,” states a post made on Kinew’s official X (formerly known as Twitter) page.

A spokesperson for the premier’s office indicated Monday that Kinew stands by his endorsement.

Winnipeg South Centre MP Ben Carr declined an interview on the subject Monday.

Terry Duguid and Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal MPs for Winnipeg South and Winnipeg North, respectively, did not immediately respond to questions about the appointment.

The Conservative Party of Canada took issue with the appointment for other reasons, calling it a promotion for a friend of the Liberals.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca