![]() Wilson-Raybould, who was Canada’s first Indigenous justice minister, resigned from cabinet in February 2019 and then in April of that year, Trudeau removed her from the Liberal caucus over the SNC-Lavalin scandal. The Prime Minister’s Office did not comment Thursday, referring back to Bennett’s tweet.īennett and Wilson-Raybould worked alongside one another in the federal cabinet between 20. “Words matter, and the initial reaction, or her first reaction to send that message to me, says something,” said Wilson-Raybould. Wilson-Raybould and numerous other MPs first elected in 2015 will be eligible for pensions this coming October once they’ve hit six years of service, and some have speculated that it could be a factor in the timing of the next election call, which has widely been speculated could happen this summer or fall. Wilson-Raybould said she hopes Bennett’s apology-a text message saying “sorry”- is genuine, and that she’s reflecting on her “ridiculous” insinuation that she is in her job for money. “I was to say the least, surprised and shocked… In the face of that horrific news, to receive a message that was laced with racism and misogyny from the minister, and not just any minister, the minister that is responsible for Crown-Indigenous relations in this country, I was floored,” she said. In an interview on CTV News Channel’s Power Play, Wilson-Raybould said she “teared up” when she woke up to that message from Bennett Thursday morning, saying the last time they had exchanged texts was in 2018. I let interpersonal dynamics get the better of me and sent an insensitive and inappropriate comment, which I deeply regret and shouldn’t have done,” Bennett said. “Earlier I offered my apologies directly to the MP for Vancouver-Granville. Responding in a tweet of her own, Bennett admitted that she sent the message and said that she apologized directly to her former cabinet colleague. MPs qualify for pensions after holding office for six years, a milestone Bennett has already achieved, having been first elected in 1997. ![]() Capital Dispatch: Stay up to date on the latest news from Parliament Hill.The comment seemed to suggest that Wilson-Raybould calling for Trudeau to stop “jockeying for an election” was prompted by her own desire to maintain her MP pension, and not because the nation continues to grieve the growing number of unmarked graves being discovered at former residential school sites. On Thursday morning, Wilson-Raybould tweeted a screenshot of a text message that Bennett sent her, in which Bennett asked: “Pension?” The incident stems from a “troubled interpersonal relationship,” between the two federal political figures, according to Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller. And, to her, it is emblematic of the Liberal government’s struggle to “do the right thing” by Indigenous people. Wilson-Raybould said that while she was “floored” by the message, to her it was “indicative of a pattern of behaviour” she says she experienced while in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett has admitted to, and apologized for, sending Independent MP and former Liberal justice minister Jody Wilson Raybould a text message that Wilson-Raybould called “racist” and “misogynist.”
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