Official Opposition Calls for Answers after Government Abandons Murray Harbour Sign Inquiry

The provincial government’s decision to quietly abandon its promised inquiry into a sign displayed by a Murray Harbour community councillor raises serious questions about its commitment to furthering truth and reconciliation, says Gord McNeilly, Liberal MLA for Charlottetown-West Royalty and diversity critic for the Official Opposition.

On the eve of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in September 2023, a sign displayed in Murray Harbour by a community councillor questioned the existence of suspected unmarked graves associated with former residential schools, causing profound hurt to Indigenous communities and residential school survivors.

The government committed in January 2024 to an independent inquiry of the councillor’s conduct under the Municipal Government Act. Since then, Islanders have waited for answers, only to find out today that the Lantz government has chosen to do nothing.

“When a government promises accountability and then quietly reverses course after repeated questions, it undermines public trust and weakens confidence in its commitment to reconciliation,” McNeilly said. “The Premier and Minister of Housing and Communities owe Islanders and Indigenous communities a full explanation for why it abandoned this inquiry, and how that decision reflects its stated commitment to reconciliation.”

Having repeatedly asked government about the status of the inquiry during Question Period and the spending of thousands of taxpayer dollars on the investigation during budget debates, McNeilly said the government’s failure to move forward with the inquiry sends the wrong message to Indigenous communities and all Islanders who expect leadership rooted in transparency and accountability.

“As the Minister of Housing, Land and Communities at the time this inquiry was announced nearly three years ago, Rob Lantz and his government made a commitment to investigate this matter because it recognized the seriousness of what happened,” McNeilly said. “If that commitment has changed, Islanders deserve to know why.”

The decision to cancel the investigation raises broader questions about whether this government is prepared to follow through when anti-Indigenous racism and residential school denialism occur in Island communities, McNeilly said, adding that he will be writing to the Premier and the Minister of Housing and Communities seeking answers on the government’s decision to abandon the inquiry.

"If this government is not going to follow through on its commitment and take action under the Municipal Government Act, like they should have done years ago, they owe an apology and a full explanation to Indigenous communities on why that commitment has changed,” McNeilly said.