Native leader takes umbrage at French PM's remarks

Comments by the French prime minister in a speech about the founding of Quebec 400 years ago were ill-informed, says a P.E.I. Mi'kmaq leader who has written asking for an apology. 'Without the Mi'kmaq and other aboriginal people those guys would never have survived.'— John Joe Sark, Mi'kmaq Grand Council John Joe Sark, a member of the Mi'kmaq Grand Council, was referring to references by Prime Minister François Fillon to the region landed in by French settlers in 1608 as "lawless" and "populated by Indians." Fillon was speaking in French at a celebration held in Quebec City on July 3. Sark told CBC News Wednesday those comments show a lack of understanding of native laws and traditions, and of the role First Nations played in helping the French gain a foothold in Canada. "It's kind of ironic because without the Mi'kmaq and... [read full story]