Employment Minister Randy Boissonneau apologized Friday for not being “clear enough” about his family’s Indigenous identity and said he had asked the Liberal Party to correct the record on calling him Indigenous.
“I unequivocally apologize and end it there,” he told reporters in Edmonton on Friday.
Boissonneau has faced questions over claims related to his family background.
Boissonneau never said he was indigenous. But he has repeatedly referred to his great-grandmother as a Cree woman in public, said he was given a Cree name in 2021, and spoken in the Cree language at least twice during legislative proceedings. He considers himself a “Cree whose status is not recognized.”
Employment Minister Randy Boissonneau apologized Friday for not being as “clear” as he said about his family history. Boissonneau said he was adopted by an Indigenous family, but he never claimed Indigenous status himself.
He issued a statement last week in response to a National Post report that alleged his former company, Global Health Imports, referred to itself as “Indigenous-owned” when bidding on federal contracts.
In that statement, he said his brother and mother were Métis. In a previous statement, he said his family’s background was Cree.
“I’m learning about my family in real time. I’m learning about family lore. As a member of parliament, I take my responsibilities as a minister very seriously. It means representing the people. ” he said.
“I was looking for a way to refer to myself while running, and to do so in a sensitive and respectful way.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Boissonneau said that after conversations with Indigenous researchers, Mr. Boissonneau began referring to himself as a “non-status adopted Cree.” on friday, national post office published an interview with the indigenous researcher in question, who denied using such language to describe the minister’s identity.
“I apologize for the inaccuracy of the particular way in which I referred to myself,” Boissonneau said.
He also denied telling the Liberal Party that he was Indigenous. The party mentioned him several years ago as one of the first Indigenous members elected to its caucus. “I never clicked any boxes on any form,” Boissonneau said of the party.
Boissonneau said he stopped sitting on the Free and Indigenous Caucus when he joined cabinet in 2021. He said that when he previously sat on the same caucus, he acted as an ally.
Opposition parties will also intervene
Conservative leader Pierre Poièvre accused Boissonneau of making a “false apology” and called for the minister’s resignation.
“He is lying. He is a fake and a fraud just like his boss. Please resign now,” Poilievre posted on X (formerly Twitter).
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he has “a lot of concerns” about Boissonneau. The minister noted that there is an ongoing investigation by the Ethics Committee into whether he continued to work in his previous business after joining the cabinet, which would be in breach of conflict of interest laws.
The investigation was launched after a series of texts from his former business partner Steven Anderson were released as part of legal proceedings.
The texts show Mr. Anderson mentioning someone named “Randy” in business conversations with colleagues and that Mr. Anderson still consults Mr. Boissonneau on business matters. There are doubts as to whether there is.
Mr. Boissonneau denied that he corresponded frequently with Mr. Anderson and accused Mr. Anderson of using his name without his consent to gain influence.
“As a minister, he shouldn’t be involved in his own business. There are questions about whether he is, and now there are questions about whether it’s a change in his narrative around Indigenous heritage. “We have a lot of people,” Singh said.
“I think Canadians deserve better, given the minister’s many problematic actions.”
