The Chief of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, Chief Sheldon Sunshine, is calling for an apology from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office after some controversial comments made Thursday by a senior staffer in a social media post.
In a post on X, the executive director of Premier Danielle Smith’s office, Bruce McAllister said, in response to Alberta Chiefs calling for the premier to be investigated for treason, that “people are sick and tired of hearing unrealistic demands from them.”
Bruce McAllister, was also forced to apologize when, as moderator of Premier Danielle Smith’s Alberta Next panel, he told a teen at a town hall that his parents should spank him.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout – YouTube, Alberta Government
Describing their demand for an investigation into allegations of treason as “childish nonsense,” McAllister said the chiefs’ priority should be to fix issues such as “devastating addition and overdose crises” that are tearing families apart and described First Nations as being entrenched in poverty, high unemployment and domestic violence.
Responding Friday to the comments, Chief Sunshine said in a statement that if such comments “were made by a senior staffer in a Premier’s office in any other province, they would be fired.”
Chief Sheldon Sunshine is chief of the Sturgeon Lake Creek First Nation a signatory to Treaty 8 that covers a vast area of northern Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.
Global News file photo
Alberta Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi also called for McAllister to be fired on Friday.
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Nenshi says McAllister’s commentary echoes bullying behaviour from Smith and a pattern of disrespect from her United Conservatives.
He says if the premier wants to send the message that she respects Albertans, she should start by firing McAllister.
“These are dog whistles,” said Nenshi, who added that “(McAllister’s) entire world is about making and keeping people angry.”
“We cannot afford to normalize this type of racist language in Alberta,” said Chief Sunshine, who added, “We look forward to his public apology.”
When asked for a response to the Chief’s comments, an official in Premier Danielle Smith’s office sent a written response to Global News that said, “Accusing elected officials of treason is dangerous and unacceptable rhetoric that only fuels division. It must be rejected entirely.”
“We want to work collaboratively on a government-to-government basis to make our communities stronger. When the Treaty Chiefs are ready to do that, we’ll look forward to it,” the statement added.
–with files from The Canadian Press.
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