Regina councillor seeks to ‘set the record straight’ in statement

Coun. Terina Shaw says she wants to “set the record straight.”

In a statement Monday, Shaw said something she said during a meeting Jan. 26 had been taken out of context by people who took her words to be racist in nature.

“I want to clarify the discussion regarding questions I posed — not comments made — at a council meeting,” Shaw wrote. “The nature of my well-intentioned inquiry has been misappropriated to represent something completely counter to my values on very important issues such as homelessness, poverty, and racism.”

A number of residents signed onto complaints against Shaw for what they alleged were racist comments relating to homelessness. On June 15, for example, she posed a question during a council meeting that seemed to imply that some Indigenous people choose to be homeless.

Representatives of the First Nations community also decried Shaw’s words.

“I appreciate that without proper context some people may take offence to what they have read, which is why I want to set the record straight,” Shaw wrote in Monday’s statement. “My actions and long-standing commitments have proven my dedication to seeking improvement around these important issues.”

City council determined last week that Shaw wouldn’t face sanctions for disrespectful comments made towards Coun. Shanon Zachidniak during a meeting in January. The city’s integrity commissioner had recommended Shaw be disciplined in some fashion for that incident.

The complaints filed about Shaw’s questions in June won’t be dealt with by the integrity commissioner because they’re not within her jurisdiction. She said they should have been addressed under The Procedure Bylaw instead.

Shaw said she met Sept. 1 with Mayor Sandra Masters and others, including Regina Treaty Status Indian Services executive director Erica Beaudin. During that meeting, it was recommended that Shaw take cross-cultural training to understand how her questions can offend people.

Shaw said in Monday’s statement she has agreed to take the course, noting “I want to learn.”

“I want to do better not because I was sanctioned by the Integrity Commissioner but because I need to understand how I can hurt people’s feelings with questions I asked,” Shaw wrote. “I never want to ever have my words, questions or actions hurt Indigenouse (sic) people or any other culture. I only want to help and serve the people.”