The senior policy adviser to New Brunswick’s commissioner on systemic racism has resigned, citing questions about the office’s independence from government.
Adviser Robert Tay-Burroughs published his resignation letter on social media Tuesday, saying he has been troubled “by the false pretences” under which the office was doing its work.
He says limits have been placed by “external forces” on what commissioner Manju Varma can say in her final report, expected in October.
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New Brunswick chiefs release report, continue call for inquiry into systemic racism
The resignation came a day after Mi’kmaq chiefs released a draft interim report that Varma had prepared in April but had not released.
That draft report included a call for a public inquiry into racism in the justice system against Indigenous people.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn told reporters Monday that the government met with Varma in April but did not ask the commissioner to keep the interim report from the public.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2022.