Ukrainian-born Marina Sapozhnikov, who immigrated to Canada in 2004 and built a life for herself by serving as a medical and emergency physician for nearly 20 years, tells Rebel News that a language barrier is at heart of the offensive statements she made about pre-colonized Indigenous peoples.

Sapozhnikov recently retired to run as a Conservative Party of B.C. MLA candidate for the Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding. Following final counts, she narrowly lost the seat to NDP MLA-elect Dana Lajeunesse by a margin of 141 votes.

But waiting to find out whether or not she would win or lose turned out to be the least of Sapozhnikov’s worries after the Vancouver Sun first released audio of shocking statements the would-be MLA made about Indigenous people during a conversation she believed was private on election night.

In the portions of the estimated 60-minute-long audio captured by a Vancouver Island journalism student named Alyona Latsinnik and published by the Sun, Sapozhnikov can be heard stating that what is taught today in Indigenous studies, which Latsinnik claimed to be taking, “is all a lie.”

Latsinnik insists the conversation was not recorded in secret, contrary to Sapozhnikov's assertion.

“They're rewriting Indigenous history. Like, Indigenous people, they were hunters and gatherers,” stated Sapozhnikov.

Sapozhnikov could also be heard questioning Latsinnik about what “Indigenous knowledge” is and referring to Indigenous people from the hunter and gatherer era as “savages.”

“They didn’t have any sophisticated laws. They were savages. They fought each other all the time,” said Sapozhnikov.

The words garnered hurt and condemnation from various Indigenous leaders, as well as B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad, who said he was appalled and saddened by the comments that were unreflective of his party.

“I find her comments that she made quite offensive, and certainly they’re not part of who I am or who we are as a party, and I can tell you that she will not be a candidate for this party going forward should there be a snap election,” Rustad recently stated during a news conference in Victoria.

After taking some time to recoup from the backlash she received, Sapozhnikov joins Rebel News to reflect on her words and share her side of the controversy, including the claim to not have fully understood the weight of the slur “savages” due to a language barrier.

Rebel News reached out to Ms. Latsinnik in effort to obtain the full recording and was not granted such at this time.

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