Senator Lynn Beyak (Image: Senate of Canada)
A Senate Ethics Committee says Senator Lynn Beyak should be suspended again in the aftermath of racist letters being posted on her website.
Beyak has been under fire for denying the impact of the Residential School System.
The latest report on the Dryden, Ont., senator says while the letters have since been removed, she didn’t comply with certain recommendations.
The committee says Beyak attended educational programs on racism against Indigenous people, but “failed to exhibit any willingness to learn.”
Beyak was also asked to make a formal apology, but the committee says it’s not satisfied with the one that she submitted to the Senate in November of 2019.
It says the brief apology doesn’t acknowledge the letters that led to her suspension, “nor does it acknowledge the adverse effects that her conduct had on Indigenous peoples, on Canadians who hold equality as a Charter value that they cherish, as well as on her colleagues, and on the institution of the Senate.”
The committee says it doesn’t believe Beyak understands why what she did was wrong, and is concerned that her apology wasn’t addressed to Indigenous peoples.
If Beyak is suspended, she won’t receive any Senate pay, benefits, services, or resources except for insurance and to allow her to attend more training on racism.
The committee will come back with its final report by June 30 of this year.
