The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is calling for Charles Adler’s Senate appointment to be revoked as punishment for comments he made in 1999.

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OTTAWA — The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon to reconsider appointing veteran broadcaster Charles Adler to the Senate because of comments Adler made in 1999 about Indigenous leaders.

Adler was announced as Manitoba’s new independent senator last weekend, with Trudeau’s office praising his achievements as a broadcaster, including nearly 20 years delivering conservative commentary on Winnipeg’s CJOB radio station.

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On Monday, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, which represents the province’s 63 First Nations, noted that Adler made remarks in 1999 that were protested by the assembly, which called his remarks “vulgar and racist.”

Adler declined to comment when reached on Monday.

Chiefs were unhappy with Adler’s comments on the Indigenous protests that took place at the Manitoba legislature, with Adler specifically criticizing the leaders involved and the decision to live on reserve.

The Broadcast Standards Council of Canada investigated the complaint but found no ethical violations in a 2000 ruling that included a transcript of some of the statements, including Adler’s use of the word “idiot” to describe the chief.

Adler used the term when explaining why he “did not believe in living on reservations” because he believed they lacked both “free enterprise” and “responsible government,” according to the ruling.

Adler’s record of comments reads: “If the chiefs who run these reservations as dictatorships haven’t figured out how to conduct free enterprise, then what’s new?”

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He went on to say it was “oppressive” to tell people to stay in a community where they can’t find jobs, documents show, adding that “no one is trying to say there aren’t a lot of jobs on the reservation.”

Ultimately, the commission ruled that the programming at the center of the complaint did not violate the broadcaster’s code of ethics.

It also determined that Adler’s use of the word “idiot” was “fair political commentary.”

The ruling said that “those who hold positions of authority in the reserve force could reasonably be described as ‘dumb’ or ‘mentally deficient’ based on the decisions they make,” another phrase Adler used.

The decision cited Adler’s response to criticism at the time, in which he said, “I never said that the intellectual capacity of the average native person is moribund.”

Adler also defended his handling of people who called into his show to comment on the matter, saying at the time that allowing a particular caller to express their opinion was a matter of personal freedom and “not a blatant attempt to stereotype anyone.”

The chiefs’ group reiterated on Monday that they believe Adler’s comments reinforce negative stereotypes about Indigenous peoples and accused Trudeau of “turning a blind eye” to such “offensive” remarks.

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“The appointment of Charles Adler as senator is a grave insult to all First Nations people in Manitoba and across Canada,” wrote Grand Chief Kathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

“How can Indigenous people think that his review of legislation affecting reserves, treaties and inherent rights will be beneficial to Indigenous people on these lands? Has Canada learned nothing from the situation with former Senator Lynn Beyak?”

Beyak retired from the Senate in 2021 after being suspended following heavy criticism for comments he made about the residential school system and Indigenous people.

Neither Trudeau’s office nor the Royal Home Office responded to requests for comment about Adler’s past remarks, including whether they were aware of them before Adler’s appointment.

In an interview on Saturday, Adler said he considered himself to be a small-C conservative and was surprised that the Liberal prime minister chose to appoint someone who shared his political views.

However, the political commentator has attracted attention in recent years for publicly parting ways with the federal Conservatives, which he said was due to the party’s further move to the political right.

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s office sharply criticized Adler’s appointment as partisan, saying Adler was not only a “cheerleader” for Trudeau but also a frequent attacker of the Conservatives, including Poilievre himself.

Federal Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, Manitoba’s only cabinet minister, also did not welcome the appointment.

“There are many very qualified Manitobans who are better suited to represent our province than Charles Adler,” he said in a statement.

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