Former cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault tells committee: ‘I am not Indigenous’

OTTAWA — Randy Boissonnault, whose shifting claims to Indigenous identity cost him his job as employment minister, told a House of Commons committee today that he is not Indigenous.

Boissonnault was called to testify at the Indigenous and Northern affairs committee after a series of media reports, led by the National Post, raised doubts about his past claims related to his heritage.

The Edmonton MP has been described as Indigenous multiple times in communications from the Liberal party, and has referred to himself as “non-status adopted Cree” and said his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.”

He has since clarified that his adoptive mother and brother are Métis, and he apologized for his shifting claims.

At the committee this morning, Boissonnault says he came up with the term “non-status adopted Cree” after a conversation with an Indigenous researcher and that he was trying to convey his family’s heritage.

NDP MP Lori Idlout, who is Inuk, pressed him on which Cree nation his family belonged to but Boissonnault had no answer.

“I grew up understanding that my family was Cree, and I didn’t question my family about which nation,” he said, adding that his great-grandmother “married a settler and so there was no First Nation that she was connected to.”

Idlout later asked what he was doing to correct the mistakes about his identity.

“I would be happy to meet with you separately to get your advice on what you think I should do,” Boissonnault said, as Idlout replied “No, no.”

“I have not stated that I’m Indigenous, I’ve not ever stated that I seek Indigenous status so I haven’t taken any step,” he said. Idlout cut him off, saying in Inuktitut that “Pretendianism is not only harmful, it is fraud.”

Boissonnault told the committee the he has been speaking with Indigenous leaders and elders and seeking advice about how to make amends.

He said the phrase “non-status adopted Cree” was something he came up with because there was no term that described his situation, and said he apologized that it was “not as clear as it could have been.”

He also said he felt the committee’s work is important in “unpacking the nexus of identity, heritage and status.”

Bloc Québécois MP Nathalie Sinclair Desgagné questioned why Boissonnault used to begin some of his speeches in the Cree language, and whether that amounted to cultural appropriation.

He defended that practice, saying in French that he wanted to be an ally of Indigenous Peoples and that some Indigenous people told him he was “talented in languages” and that it was important for him to add Cree to his speeches.

It is not uncommon for politicians to include words in Indigenous languages in addresses to Indigenous communities.

The National Post also reported that a company he co-founded when he was not an MP had described itself as wholly Indigenous-owned in order to apply for government contracts set aside for Indigenous businesses.

It was not successful in those bids, and Boissonnault said Thursday he was “glad the current safeguards worked correctly.”

He also said his former business partner and the company’s other co-founder, Stephen Anderson, used his name without his consent and “conducted himself unethically.”

Boissonnault insists he has not been involved in the business since he was re-elected in 2021 and said he has sought legal advice on the matter.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper asked why he hadn’t sued Anderson already. Boissonnault said he has started the process to begin legal action and said it was one of the reasons he resigned from cabinet.

The pair’s business dealings and the company they founded, Global Health Imports, have been the subject of two ethics committee probes. The Conservatives have accused Anderson of lying to committee and want to call him before the bar in the House of Commons for a formal reprimand.

That authority has only been used twice since 1913.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press