Controversial Okanagan MLA doubles down on anti-Indigenous stance

The Penticton Indian Band was outraged when an Okanagan MLA called the First Nation a threat to British Columbia, and now that MLA is doubling down.

Tara Armstrong represents Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream as an Independent since she left the BC Conservatives in solidarity with a party member, Dallas Brodie, who was ousted for mocking residential school survivors.

Armstrong and Brodie released a statement that said Indigenous sovereignty is a threat to the province. The Penticton Indian Band called for Armstrong and Brodie’s resignation in response.

The latest response from the MLAs came in a statement today, May 12. Armstrong and Brodie restated their position that Indigenous bands and their sovereignty are a problem.

“With all due respect to the chiefs and councils of these bands, British Columbia simply cannot accommodate more than 200 sovereignties within its borders,” the statement reads. “Unilateral assertions of sovereignty by bands are deepening racial conflict and undermining the principle of equality under the law.”

The Penticton Indian Band reminded the MLAs that Indigenous sovereignty is the law.

“Indigenous sovereignty is not a threat — it is the law,” the band’s statement said. “Assertions of Indigenous sovereignty are constitutionally protected rights and affirmed by Canadian and international law.”

The MLAs released a letter sent directly to them on May 1, when the band cited section 35 of the Constitution Act, as well as several court rulings reinforcing Indigenous sovereignty under the law.

Armstrong and Brodie said they are following the lead of British Columbians back in the 1800s.

“When British Columbia joined Canada in 1871, it saw no need to recognize Aboriginal title or sovereignty and resisted the creation of reserves for fear of excluding Indigenous people from public life. We hold a similar hope for our future—that all British Columbians will partake as equals in the province’s future prosperity,” the statement reads.

Armstrong and Brodie have been controversial figures since they left the BC Conservative Party shortly after the election in the fall.

There’s an online petition for Armstrong’s recall, but it won’t have an immediate impact since there are strict rules about timing and collecting signatures for a recall petition.