The Globe and Mail Published January 14, 2021
MOE DOIRON/The Canadian Press
The new year has begun with the pandemic wearing on, white supremacists running amok over the U.S. Capitol – and an insult to First Nations people.
On Jan. 1, the Crown’s representative and chancellor of the Order, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, granted the highest provincial honour to former premier Mike Harris for “exceptional achievements” that left a “lasting legacy.”
That is one way to put it. Indigenous people see a man with blood on his hands being rewarded by the tone-deaf ruling elite in this province, who have signalled that they do not care about having a true relationship with Indigenous people who live here on this shared – not surrendered – land.
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Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald of Taykwa Tagamou Nation is among many who do not want former Premier Mike Harris to receive the ‘Order of Ontario’ which is Ontario’s highest honour.
She posted a letter to that effect on the Chiefs of Ontario website to raise awareness of the feelings of the First Nations People.
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“The Order of Ontario is to celebrate accomplishments and lasting legacy within Ontario and beyond. Mike Harris’s accomplishments and actions as Premier in 1995 represent a dark and painful chapter in First Nations’ true shared history in Ontario,” said Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald.
Batchewana First Nation leader calls Harris appointment act of blatant racism
Chief Dean Sayers joins growing Indigenous opposition to former premier s Order of Ontario honour
Jan 9, 2021 11:28 AM By: James Hopkin
Former Premier Mike Harris. File photo
Batchewana First Nation Chief Dean Sayers wonders what kind of narrative the Ontario Government will create for future generations if Mike Harris is awarded the province’s highest honour.
The former premier and Nipissing MPP was among the 47 appointments to the Order of Ontario announced Jan. 1. Harris’s appointment was met with criticism from Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald earlier this week, and sparked an online petition that has garnered more than 71,000 signatures as of Saturday.
Posted: Jan 07, 2021 12:31 PM ET | Last Updated: January 7
Former Ontario premier Mike Harris, shown in February 2006, has been nominated for the Order of Ontario, the province s highest honour. ((Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press))
Six Nations of the Grand River s elected council is joining calls for the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to rescind the appointment of former Premier Mike Harris to the province s highest honour.
It s a move in solidarity with other First Nations expressing outrage at his appointment to the Order of Ontario. A media release from Six Nations points to the death of Anthony Dudley George at Ipperwash in 1995 and the role Harris played.