Indigenous leader, MP call for Boissonnault to resign over shifting claims about family [Video]

Some Indigenous leaders are now backing calls for Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault to resign over conflicting claims about his family’s background.

Boissonnault has been under scrutiny for months over claims made about his family’s Indigenous heritage and allegations that his former company Global Health Imports (GHI) claimed to be “Indigenous-owned” when bidding for federal contracts in 2020.

He has denied having any involvement in the business since he was re-elected in 2021 and has claimed that his former business partner Stephen Anderson — chief operating officer of GHI — was working without his consent to “advance his personal interests.”

Joanna Bernard, AFN regional leader for New Brunswick, told CBC’s Power & Politics on Tuesday that she thinks Boissonnault should resign in light of the conflicting statements about his family’s heritage.

“If somebody is doing something on his behalf, he should have been aware,” Bernard said. “I think ignorance is not an excuse and he …