Jorge Barrera, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, October 22, 2008
National Post
Site:http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=901465
Richard Pound said he would not be stepping down as chancellor of McGill University or leaving the International Olympic Committee over controversial comments he made to a Montreal newspaper.
In an August interview with La Presse about the Olympics in China, Pound referred to Canada as "un pays de sauvages" 400 years ago.
Pound was responding to criticism about the IOC's involvement in China despite that country's checkered history on human rights.
Various First Nations organizations said they took offence to the comment because it implied that Canada was a land populated by savages before Europeans settled it. A native group, LandInSights, wrote the IOC's ethics commission calling for Pound's suspension over his comments.
The IOC, however, decided not to open a file on the complaint, said Pound, adding that the comments were misinterpreted.
Pound said he has been surprised at the ferocity of some of the attacks directed his way. He said much of it has been based on a mistranslation of the French word sauvages into the English word savage.
"(Sauvages) is basically living free in what was to the Europeans a sort of large, unknown territory," said Pound.
"TheIOC looked into it and my explanation of it and said it's not a racist comment as far as they are concerned they are not going to open a file," said Pound
Pound also said he would not be stepping down from his position as chancellor because his comments had nothing to do with his role at McGill.
He is also considering legal action over some statements directed his way.
"I have no desire to make anything into a war. If it goes that way that is fine. If people are out there referring to me as a racist that is a little different," said Pound. "I can be inept, clumsy or wrong, but I am not a racist, I never have been, I never will be.
"Ihave been involved in more than half a century in the Olympic movement in which I have played a leading role in trying to cut down and attack discrimination based on politics and gender and I have a pretty good record on that."
Pound said he was "disappointed" with British Columbia Prime Gordon Campbell who also waded into the controversy Tuesday with a criticism of Pound's comment.
"The premier of a province, I think, has a special responsibility to make sure he knows, in this case, knowing this interview was in French and to understand that there is a huge difference between sauvages and savage," said Pound.
Pound said he has tried to get in contact with Assembly of FirstNations national chief Phil Fontaine and the Assembly of First Nations for Quebec and Labrador Ghislain Picard, but received no response.
Summary:This is about how pound is saying that he did not make a racist comment about first nations and he will not be stepping down from mc gill university as a teacher.
Questions:
do you think that pound will step down after being pressured?
do you think it was a racist comment ?
what do you think would happen if pound left McGill university?would it affect them at all?
13 comments:
i think that he is just getting him self in trouble and that it will not help him at all.
fraser sopik
I think pound is very confident and will not be steping down
I think that pound is being racist against them and it is going to affeect him in the future of his job.
I think he will not step down because he is confident and sure of him self
I think Pound is a little racist. He should step down because then there will be no more issues
I think that pound is racist and he should not be doing that because he might get in trouble!
O no!! He is getting hinself into trouble
I think that the university won't be efected by pound leaving if he did because no university should have somebody that's racist.
It is good that pound is confident but if he did make a racist comment it would be bad to addmit it
i think pound will step down or the board will fire him for making a very racist comment
I think if pound leafs Mcgill he will not be happy thet he left.Pound is a good man he cane take care of himself.
I think that his comment was very racist in the first place, and I think he sould step down.
I think that Mr. Pound is being a little racist and he should step down because of that, even through he is "very confident". I mean that honestly don't you think that he is getting himself into more trouble.
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