It was a chaotic scene at the University of British Columbia on Thursday when a crowd of protesters confronted OneBC leader Dallas Brodie and a group of her supporters.
Brodie was attempting to speak outside the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, but was shouted down by the crowd.
The protesters were calling out her group for spreading residential school denialism.
Previously, Brodie was criticized after a photo of her denying the deaths of children at Canada’s residential schools was circulated on social media.
The image, taken in front of a sign in Penticton that references the 215 suspected unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Residential School site, showed Brodie holding up a sign that said ‘Zero Bodies.’
Brodie has said that an industry has been created on supposed false claims about what happened at the Kamloops Residential School.
“All of this reaction here is so crazy because why can’t we just talk about it,” Brodie said at UBC on Thursday.
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“What we really should have is a debate going on inside a forum at UBC where we can hear both sides of this story.”
One of Brodie’s associates, fired Mount Royal professor Frances Widdowson, was seen being carried away from the scene by police officers.
A protester told Brodie, “This isn’t about free speech, it’s about hate.”
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Brodie responded with “I think it’s about truth.”
In a statement, UBC said that campus security worked with concerned community stakeholders to ensure appropriate supports were in place.
“When it became clear that there were potential safety risks, Campus Security, with the support of the RCMP, directed the visitors to leave the campus for their own safety,” the university said in a statement. “As the visitors were not following these instructions, RCMP then facilitated their departure from campus.”
The university said it is not aware of any arrests or injuries during the protest; however, University RCMP said one person was arrested, but was later released without charges.
“UBC is fundamentally committed to upholding free inquiry, the free exchange of ideas and opinion, academic freedom, diversity of perspective, and reasoned debate,” the statement reads.
“The university respects peaceful protest and the ability of all members of the UBC community and the public to engage in the free exchange of ideas and opinions. UBC’s position relating to Truth and Reconciliation is clear and embedded within our Indigenous Strategic Plan and UBC Okanagan’s Declaration of Truth and Reconciliation Commitments. Indigenous leadership from the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre have also recently published information about their perspective on these matters.”
Police were also called in December to the University of Victoria when Brodie and her supporters held an unsanctioned event.
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