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Employee fired by municipality over online comments leads to calls for cultural conversations

Indigenous community leaders call for 'bridges' of understanding across the region

Lac La Biche County senior administrators have fired an employee for comments he made on  a rural crime social media page. The comments, relating to crime and criminals in rural areas, was perceived by many to have racial overtones.

The municipal employee had been a fire chief in the hamlet of Hylo. His firing was announced Friday afternoon on the municipality's own social media page.The announcement cited contravention of the code of conduct and social media policy that is signed by each employee, along with an over-arching concern for the "harmful commentary that would exclude or harm any person or group of people." The employee, named in the municipality's posting as Elson Walker, had been on a paid suspension from his duties since August 14, pending an internal investigation.

Lac La Biche County Mayor Omer Moghrabi told LakelandToday.ca that the investigation was conducted with senior administrative personnel and the municipality's legal counsel.

"I didn't speak directly to the employee, neither did our council. That's not our job," said the mayor, adding that naming the employee in the municipal announcement was a decision that was approved by the county's legal department.

Standing behind the decision to fire the employee, Moghrabi said he has heard directly from neighbouring communities who are ready to begin a more robust dialogue about racism and cultural education. The mayor welcomes the discussions, and hopes to move forward, building on the long-standing history of all cultures in the region. "My hope is to see us strengthening the partnerships and all the connections that we have — and I have — with each other. We are neighbours and we need to continue to engage each other and work together."

At the Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement, council leaders denounced the "racist comments made on social media" that triggered the most recent backlash. In a public statement released to the settlement's social media page on Friday, the Metis leadership encourages "proper respect and acknowledgement of the area's indigenous communities that help sustain the areas's commerce" rather than "an outpouring of hatred and racism towards indigenous peoples."

The history of indigenous people across the region and the country must be respected, said Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement council chairman Stan Delorme.

"Metis and First Nations people have walked this area for eons, and should never heave to feel threatened in our own territory," he said.

The settlement's council has pledged to "build bridges to come together rather than building walls that divide, " and plans to work with Lac La Biche County's leaders and those from other affected communities to create those bridges.

Moving forward together

Beaver Lake Cree Nation Chief Germaine Anderson has sent out a similar message. Again using the nation's social media page, she is calling on other indigenous communities, Lac La Biche County and the area's RCMP to work together to fight what she calls "systemic and racial injustices and violent hate crime and speech."

Acknowledging that hate crimes and racist sentiment affect more than only the targeted victims, Anderson says all residents of the region are affected.

"The harm is not restricted to just the victims involved," she noted. "Hate crimes convey a message of fear to all members of the community and has created an environment of distrust and community fragmentation."

She suggests the creation of a special task force to address the issue of hate crimes, along with outreach and education as a proactive responsive "to reduce fear and assist victims."

Some of those plans for cultural education are already in place within the Lac La Biche County administrative offices.

"Prior to this — we were looking at doing a joint education program with our employees and Portage College in terms of Indigenous training," said the mayor, explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed some implementation. "We  are still continuing on that path."

The mayor says he hopes to begin conversations with Indigenous communities and others in the coming weeks. A pilot project on rural crime created by the federal and provincial governments has already been approved for the county, Beaver Lake, Kikino, Heart Lake and Buffalo Lake, and the mayor said those upcoming meetings will be a starting point for joint discussions.

And while the mayor says that a general frustration across the community about crime has been a part of the recent racial tension, it is just one part of an over-riding situation.

"Rural crime stands on its own. It doesn't need racism," he said. 

Lac La Biche RCMP officials have been forwarded the statements from Beaver Lake and Buffalo Lake. Comments from the local Mounties were not available by the initial deadline for this story.

While there was initial discussion that the municipal employee's online comments could be investigated as a criminal act, Moghrabi said no police action has been taken against the employee following his dismissal.

 

 

 

 


Rob McKinley

About the Author: Rob McKinley

Rob has been in the media, marketing and promotion business for 30 years, working in the public sector, as well as media outlets in major metropolitan markets, smaller rural communities and Indigenous-focused settings.
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