About a dozen protesters gathered Tuesday afternoon outside the Saint John constituency office of Arlene Dunn, New Brunswick’s Aboriginal affairs minister, unhappy with how they see the provincial government handling reconciliation efforts.
They said Dunn should resign.
“Unfortunately, she has refused to do that,” said protest organizer Lynaya Astephen, “and she keeps embarrassing New Brunswick with her actions and embarrassing herself.”
Astephen, who chairs local social justice group Leap4ward, said the province needs to at least recognize it’s built on unceded territory.
Earlier this month, Dunn rose in the legislature to amend a motion to recognize Sept. 30 as Reconciliation Day.
That amendment removed the use of the word “unceded.”
“Enough is enough,” said Astephen.
“Enough with her actions and these amendments.”
Dunn was not inside her office as the small group gathered outside; staff said she was in meetings all day.
In a statement sent to Global News, she said: “The right to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and the right to association are vital in a democratic system and I respect those rights.”
Her presence, or lack thereof, didn’t matter to those protesting.
Some said they hope those driving by read their signs and feel inspired to act.
“A lot of times we can’t do anything about past issues,” said Dave Thompson, whose sign read ‘respect unceded land,’ “but one of the things we can do is not to continue living in the past.
“If we can move positive things forward, we can make our Native peoples’ lives better.”