Saskatoon-Humboldt Member of Parliament Jim Pankiw distributed a flyer last week entitled “Indian Crime”, in which he calls for the elimination of the Indian Act, meaning the end of affirmative action, tax exemption for Indians, and Native hunting and fishing rights. The pamphlet caused a protest outside Pankiw’s office on Thursday by about forty postal workers resenting the order to deliver what they considered racist propaganda. A larger protest of about 150 people was organized on Tuesday in front of Saskatoon City Hall, where Pankiw plans on running for mayor in an upcoming election. The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations filed a complaint with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, spurring Pankiw to file a counter-complaint asking the Solicitor General to investigate what he considers racist comments by aboriginal leaders. The politician has continuously stimulated heated debate over his views on race since leaving the Canadian Alliance Party under controversy a few years ago.
