Speechwriter Paul Bunner retires following article controversy
Posted Sep 4, 2020 5:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – In the aftermath of the outrage over an article written in 2013 questioning the severity of the effects of residential schools, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s speechwriter, Paul Bunner, is retiring.
In June, a past article by Bunner for the magazine C2C Journal argued that abuse and separation enforced in Canada’s residential schools on Indigenous students had been overblown.
In the article, he said there was without a doubt abuse within the schools, but despite this, those who suffered through them were just trying to squeeze money from the government.
“The bogus genocide story of the Canadian Aboriginal residential schools system is an insult to all of us, native and non-native, dead or alive, who are justifiably proud of the peaceful, tolerant, pluralistic history and values of our great country,” wrote Bunner in the article.
After the article was brought to light, NDP leader Rachel Notley called for the firing of Bunner.
Kenney did not take any actions toward the firing of Bunner at the time but did say he did not agree with Bunner’s article.
READ MORE: Kenney rejects NDP call to fire speechwriter over residential school comments
However, Bunner is now retiring in the aftermath.
“Paul Bunner is retiring on Monday, Sept 7, which is his 65th birthday, as he had planned. We thank Mr. Bunner for his service and we wish him the very best as he enters retirement,” said Harrison Fleming from the Officer of the Premier.
RELATED: ‘No, I never ignore our First Nations:’ says Premier Jason Kenney
Bunner was hired as Kenney’s speechwriter in 2019 and was previously a speechwriter for Stephen Harper.
