Battlefords-Llyodminster MP Rosemarie Falk is under fire for high-fiving fellow Alberta MP Dane Llyod, after voting against a bill supporting Indigenous rights.
The two conservative MPs are seen in a video high-fiving each other after they both voted “nay” to Bill C-262 in the House of Commons last week.
The bill is to ensure Canada’s laws are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
FSIN Vice Chief Heather Bear, said the action is unprofessional and shameful.
“I really condemn what I witnessed in a House that is supposed to representing Saskatchewan,” Bear told CTV News. “It is not making Saskatchewan stronger.”
The National Chief for the Assembly of First Nations, Perry Bellegarde also condemned the action.
In a tweet he said, “For two elected members of Parliament – elected representatives of the Canadian people – to behave so disrespectfully on a matter of basic human rights is absolutely beyond the pale.”
Falk said the high-five was unrelated to the bill.
“This was in response to the conclusion of nearly an hour of voting in the House of Commons, and not the specific vote in question. Conservatives continue to support ongoing efforts to reconcile with Canada’s indigenous communities,” Falk wrote in a statement.
Bill C-262 was passed in the House of Commons and is now moving to the Senate for approval.
