What happens when a sitting MLA dares to tell the truth about what could potentially be one of the biggest hoaxes in the nation? If you're Dallas Brodie, you get kicked out of your party, smeared in the press and targeted by one of the most powerful political lobbying groups in British Columbia for so called “residential school denialism.”

The independent MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena, who was formerly the B.C. Conservatives’ Attorney General critic, is refusing to back down after publicly stating what even the B.C. courts have acknowledged: to date, no human remains have been discovered at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School site.

Brodie's statement contradicts the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation’s sensational 2021 claim to have confirmed to have discovered “the remains of 215 children,” some of whom were allegedly “as young as three years old.”

Despite the falsehood contributing to a spree of hateful attacks against Christian places of worship and the apparent misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars, and the House of Commons unanimously labelling the residential school system as “genocide,” there is more effort from political forces to cancel and criminalize the speech of Canadians like Brodie, who call for transparency over the matter, than there is to try and find out what actually lies beneath the soil at the former school.

Now, Brodie is sounding the alarm over the dangerous direction political discourse is heading in the province.

During question period last Thursday, she called on the provincial government to defund and condemn the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) for pushing radical Orwellian demands to criminalize so-called “residential school denialism” — an undefined term that, in her case, includes stating facts.

“When the First Nations Leadership Council made a press release that people like me should be imprisoned for speaking facts, this is something that can't be just left alone,” Brodie said in our sit-down interview. “I had an opportunity in question period to open this topic up… and yes, it's an awkward topic… but what the council did can't be just left alone to sit there hanging in the air.”

The FNLC, a joint political body and partner to the leadership arms of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the Assembly of First Nations (B.C. region), and the First Nations Summit, issued a press release on March 20 calling for Canada to “prioritize legislation to create legal protections against Residential School Denialism,” which they described as equal in harm to Holocaust denial.

They framed such speech as “dangerous anti-Indigenous racism,” urging all MPs to make it an offence to “condone, deny, downplay, or justify Residential Schools in Canada or misrepresent related facts.”

What precisely constitutes “denialism” has never been defined — something Brodie says is deeply concerning.

“I haven't denied harms that were caused. I haven't denied that residential schools existed,” she said. “So, what they're asking for is denialism — [but] I think that needs to be defined… Is it anything that you say about the whole situation, or is it actually specific denying?”

Brodie’s comments come at a time when fact-based speech is increasingly being rebranded as hate speech.

In 2022, the federal government passed a motion declaring that the residential school system constituted a literal genocide, despite the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) own report having used the term “cultural genocide.” The change in language, driven by moral panic and political pressure, has emboldened demands to criminalize dissenting views — even when those views are consistent with established facts or expert findings.

Nevertheless, speaking to that reality can cost people their jobs, reputations, and now — if the FNLC has its way — their law-abiding reputation and freedom.

The pressure campaign against Brodie echoes what other professionals have faced, including Victoria lawyer Jim Heller, who is currently suing the Law Society of B.C. for defamation after being labelled a “residential school denier” for pointing out factual errors in the society’s mandatory training materials.

Brodie’s political exile also mirrors a federal controversy. In the same release where the FNLC is now denying Brodie’s claim that they were calling for her imprisonment, the FNLC doubled down on the same tactics — this time turning their attention to federal Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn.

The FNLC demanded Gunn be removed over a past social media post stating that residential schools did not constitute a genocide, a statement that aligns with the TRC's original language.

“Such attitudes are extremely harmful and divisive and should not be held by those in public office,” the FNLC wrote.

Unlike Conservative Party of B.C. leader John Rustad, who threw Brodie out of caucus after similar controversy swelled about her, federal Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has stood by Gunn and refuted allegations of racism and denialism.

Please donate to support the making of 'Kamloops: The Buried Truth'!

The claim of 215 buried children at Kamloops shocked the nation, fueling outrage, church burnings, and a narrative of shame. But years later, no bodies have been found. Rebel News reporters Drea Humphrey and Matt Brevner are investigating the truth behind this story — facts the mainstream media won’t touch. We need your help to produce this independent documentary. Unlike government-funded media, we rely on supporters like you. Donate today to help us uncover the truth!

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