New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna has apologized for a remark he made about native women, suggesting they all look alike.
While addessing law students in Windsor, Ont. in late March, McKenna described a case he handled when he was a young defence lawyer. An aboriginal woman was charged with bootlegging but McKenna believed the arresting officer would not be able to pick the woman out of a group of native women because “when I went on to the reservation, I realized that everybody I met looked exactly like her.” When the case came to court, McKenna sat the woman in the middle of a group of native women. The officer couldn’t identify her and she was acquitted.
The Premier later apologized, saying he had no idea his remarks were considered offensive. McKenna is also the province’s minister responsible for the status of women.
