North Island-Powell River Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn has been criticized after past social media comments surfaced, praising Russian leader Vladimir Putin and claiming that residential schools were not an act of genocide.
Now, some are calling for Gunn to be dropped from the ballot in the upcoming election.
Recently, Gunn’s uncovered comments about Putin have come to light in regards to the Russian leader’s attempts to cleanse Russia of gay people.
In a post made on Facebook in 2014, Gunn wrote “Stop hating on Putin,” and minimized the cruelty of the Russian authorities against LGBTQ+ people.
These comments were made at a time when Russia was facing criticism ahead of the Olympics and had passed anti-gay laws aimed at cleansing the country of homosexuality.
In a social media post made this week to address these comments, Gunn said he does not hold those views anymore.
“I am firmly opposed to Putin’s heinous and illegal actions in Ukraine, and his oppression of the Russian people within Russia. I have held and articulated these views publicly for years,” he wrote.
“In early 2014, when I was still in my early 20s, I made foolish comments about Putin and Ukraine. I stopped holding those views a long time ago.”
However, the current sitting NDP MP for North Island-Powell River, Rachel Blaney says Gunn’s response didn’t address his defense of Putin’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ people.
“It’s disturbing to learn that Aaron Gunn defended and minimized Vladimir Putin’s plan to ‘cleanse’ Russia of homosexuality and criticized the ‘gay rights lobby’ for calling it out,” said Blaney.
“This was a direct legal attack on LGBTQ+ people in Russia, not a ‘small issue.’ There is no excuse for Mr. Gunn’s defense of Putin’s homophobic repression. His statement last night does nothing to address or apologize for these harmful comments.”
Additionally, Gunn is being criticized by the NDP as well as the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) for comments made more recently in 2020 that claim residential schools in Canada were not a form of genocide against Indigenous Peoples.
There was no genocide. Stop lying to people and read a book.
The Holocaust was a genocide. Get off Twitter and learn more about the world. https://t.co/YFp76pe4LF
— Aaron Gunn (@AaronGunn) October 22, 2020
“His comments on residential schools – like saying that bands ‘asked for’ residential schools – are shameful attempts to justify something that was clearly wrong. It takes focus away from where it should be: on the experiences of survivors,” Blaney continued.
Following a Truth and Reconciliation Commission ordered in 2008 by former prime minister Stephen Harper, the Commission concluded that, “residential schools were a systematic, government-sponsored attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages, and to assimilate Aboriginal peoples so that they no longer existed as distinct peoples.”
Blaney added that she stands with the UBCIC in their call for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to fire Gunn, and drop him from the ballot.
Criticism against Gunn comes after four Conservative candidates have been dropped by the party for varying reasons, which include harmful past comments on social media.
Gunn’s campaign spokesperson says that the North Island-Powell River candidate has recognized the “truly horrific” events that transpired in residential schools.
However, he remains steadfast in his opinion it was not a genocide against Indigenous Peoples.
In regards to his 2014 comments about Putin, Gunn’s campaign spokesperson said, “Conservatives are united in opposition to Putin’s illegal actions, and stand firmly behind Ukraine.”
“The imprudent comments in question were posted when he was in his early 20s, and Mr. Gunn ceased holding those views long ago.”
They added that in recent years Gunn has spoken out about breaking Putin’s energy stranglehold on Europe, by developing ethical Canadian oil and natural gas.
