Following yesterday’s unsanctioned OneBC event on UVic’s campus, the university released a letter thanking the protesters who showed up for their efforts in pushing back against hate.
On Tuesday, December 2nd, OneBC leader Dallas Brodie, a former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson, and a former high school teacher Jim McMurtry organized an event on campus that was unsanctioned by UVic.
They were told ahead of the event that they were not allowed to hold an event without going through the proper channels, but chose to show up anyway.
The intended event was aimed at sharing their controversial and decidedly-untrue views that what the Indigenous Peoples of Canada experienced in the residential school system was not a form of genocide.
The three organizers also share the view that the 215+ unmarked graves outside Kamloops Indian Residential School are a hoax.
When Brodie, Widdowson and McMurtry showed up on campus yesterday with a handful of OneBC supporters, they were met with over 100 protesters who intended to have them removed from campus.
The protesters wore orange shirts, beat drums and stood in solidarity to not allow hateful and racist messages be spread on campus.
Saanich Police attended the event and escorted those who were trespassing off campus. Police also reportedly arrested Widdowson for non-compliance.
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In the letter UVic’s Acting President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robina Thomas wrote to students, faculty and staff, she acknowledged the harms that this event may have brought to the university’s community.
“I raise my hands with the deepest of respect – Huy tseep q’u Siem – thank you to all the respected ones who showed up to turn their backs on a potentially harmful unsanctioned event at UVic earlier today,” wrote Dr. Thomas.
“The sea of orange that surrounded the Survivor’s Flag is an undeniable validation of our communities’ commitment to the local Indigenous Teachings that ground our Indigenous Plan.”
She added that the university stands with those who were impacted by this event, and stands against those who seek to divide the community.
“Recent events on our campus and attempts at denying the history of residential schools are part of a growing narrative that attempts to distort the values and the core mission of higher education institutions—commitment to truth, critical inquiry, and knowledge dissemination,” Dr. Thomas continued.
“This hurtful and divisive rhetoric should not be confused for academic inquiry and debate.”
Dr. Thomas’ letter concluded by providing resources to those who were impacted by the OneBC event.
See her full letter and access the recommended supports online here.
