Boissonnault faces new scrutiny over his statements on family's Indigeneity

Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault is set to face a new round of questions over his business dealings and family history at a parliamentary committee in the wake of a report that his former company claimed to be "Indigenous owned" when bidding for federal contracts in 2020.

The minister and Edmonton MP has been tied up in multiple probes into past business dealings for months. The medical supplies company he co-founded, Global Health Imports (GHI), became mired in lawsuits, scandal and probes into whether Boissonnault continued to work with the company after becoming a cabinet minister — which would be illegal.

Boissonnault has denied all allegations and has claimed his former business partner, Stephen Anderson, was working without his consent to "advance his personal interests."

A story published in the National Post last week prompted a closer look into what Boissonnault has said about his family's Indigenous links — and how what he's said about his family has shifted over time.

While Boissonnnault's spokesperson has said he has never claimed to be Indigenous himself, others — including the Liberal Party — have claimed it on his behalf.

In 2015, the Liberal Party's Indigenous Peoples' Commission — an internal party group that promotes the interests of Indigenous party members — identified Boissonnault as one of ten Indigenous Liberal candidates elected to the House of Commons.

The claim was repeated on the social media platform Instagram.

In 2019, the Liberal Party told CBC News that Boissonnault was Indigenous — but five weeks after an article listing the number of Indigenous candidates was published, the Liberal Party sent a clarification stating that Boissonnault does not claim Indigenous heritage.

The party said the information identifying Boissonnault as Indigenous "came from a staff error."

At the time, the Liberal Party said Boissonnault's mother was Cree.

During a hearing of the parliamentary language committee, Boissonnault said his Cree name means "strong eagle man." His spokesperson said the name was given to him by an elder in 2021.

At a heritage committee hearing, Boissonnault referred to his Cree great-grandmother, Lucy Brown Eyes.

Boissonnault now says his mother is Métis. Some experts are skeptical.

"I think we ought to know who our mother is," said Michelle Good, a retired lawyer and author and member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.