Before disappearing on Wednesday, the Facebook page had close to 5,000 members and was filled with negative comments about aboriginal people. (iStock)
A Facebook page that attacked aboriginal people in Winnipeg and re-ignited the racism debate in the city, has been pulled down.
The page, called “Aboriginals Need to get a job and stop using our tax dollars,” claimed support for Kelvin High School teacher Brad Badiuk who was suspended in January after making racist comments on his own Facebook page.
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A screen grab of the controversial Facebook page. (Facebook)
The page was created in December — the same month Badiuk’s posting was made. Before disappearing on Wednesday, the page had close to 5,000 members and was filled with negative comments about aboriginal people.
Robert Sinclair, an aboriginal man, who came across the page on Tuesday, called it a hate crime and hopes the people behind it are held accountable.
A note on the Facebook page claims support for Brad Badiuk. (Facebook)
“Knowing the fact that people [were] looking at and supporting it, it doesn’t say a great deal of positive outlook for the way that Winnipeg is directing themselves,” he said.Just before it was pulled down, the page started getting a lot of posts critical of it, with at least one person calling the administrators “racist a—holes.”
A new Facebook page called Protest against “Aboriginals Need to get a job and stop using our tax dollars” started in response and was applauding the removal of the racist page.
‘Inspiring, important moment’
One aboriginal leader says he’s not angry by the page, but rather inspired by the opportunities it presents.
Niigaan Sinclair, who teaches indigenous literature, culture, history and politics at the University of Manitoba, said it used to be that no one talked about racism, that it was swept under the rug.
Now, people talk about racism and relationships every day, and that is the only way to make things better.
“I actually think this is a really inspiring important moment,” he told CBC News on Wednesday, adding he wants people to talk about what it means to be a meaningful citizen in this city.
RED POWER MEDIA 
Thenasty.ca claims this was meant to be an April fools joke, despite that the page was made in December. Takes a real coward not to stand up to hide behind a page then not even have the courage to accept responsibility like an adult
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It’s not just talking that must be done though. I believe a conversation is important but its up to the oppressors to stop oppressing. Individual whites can choose not to participate in and speak out against racist bullshit but there are also deep structural problems that effect the Indigenous people of Canada negatively.
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The real problem in Winnipeg is the reactionary white culture. Same for Alberta which is basically a less extreme version of Texas. Sad people would rally behind this asshole. It reminds me of how communities are more likely to rally behind the rapist than the victim. White people need to end their entitlement and acknowledge this land we now live on had people living here without exploiting the land for thousands of yrs before we came here. It certainly is worrying the popularity of this page.
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Reblogged this on The Cryptosphere and commented:
We can’t even originate our own racism: we just steal memes from Canada’s Underpants.
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We had reported it as obscene and abusive in Oklahoma….because it was.
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We mass reported it from our group against racists, and our personal facebook pages. Unacceptable!
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