A 2017 letter to the editor in the Chronicle Journal is starting to make the rounds of social media following the appointment of the letter’s author to the police services board.
John Cyr wrote at the time that Senator Lynn Beyak’s comments regarding residential schools were balanced and thoughtful.
The new provincial appointee to the board tells us he hasn’t looked at the letter in years.
He notes he hasn’t looked at Beyak’s Senate website but from what has been reported some of the letters that have been posted are inappropriate and should not be there.
Cyr adds he is confident we have issues that can be resolved positively and constructively concerning police services in Thunder Bay.
Police Board Chair Celina Reitberger has said she isn’t commenting on his letter to the editor.
She sticks to her comments on his appointment, saying he is a valuable ally.
Meanwhile, Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler is calling for the resignation of Cyr.
Fiddler says “It is unacceptable and insulting that a person who has expressed support for Senator Beyak’s racist actions would be appointed by the province to the board tasked with restoring the trust of this city’s troubled police service with the Indigenous community.”
