Senator Lynn Beyak says First Nations should give up status cards – CBC

‘None of us are leaving, so let’s stop the guilt and blame,’ Conservative senator says in open letter

Sep 13, 2017

After vowing to take the summer months to meet with Indigenous people after a series of controversial remarks, Conservative Sen. Lynn Beyak says she now believes First Nations should give up their Indigenous rights and integrate into Canadian society.

“Trade your status card for a Canadian citizenship, with a fair and negotiated payout to each Indigenous man, woman and child in Canada, to settle all the outstanding land claims and treaties, and move forward together just like the leaders already do in Ottawa,” she said in an open letter published Sept. 1 on her Senate website.

(Indigenous people born in this country are Canadian citizens, and were given full voting rights in 1960.)