Vancouver Olympic Committee board member and McGill Chancellor Richard Pound publicly apologized last Wednesday for an off-colour remark he made regarding Canadian Aboriginals in an August 9 interview with La Presse, a Montreal French-language newspaper.
The controversial statement concerned the International Olympic Committee's relationship with China, which was positive despite the host country's poor human rights record.
"We must not forget that 400 years ago, Canada was a [pays de sauvages], with scarcely 10,000 inhabitants of European descent," Pound had told La Presse in French. "While in China, we're talking about a 5,000-year-old civilization."
Pound's quote went unnoticed for several months and only gained national attention when Quebec Aboriginal rights groups filed a formal complaint with the IOC Ethics Board, calling for Pound's resignation from both his position on the VANOC and his role as McGill chancellor. Pound apologized Wednesday after the McGill Board of Governors released a statement distancing the university from his comments. British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell also publicly criticized the remarks.
"I apologize for any unintentional harm that was caused, absolutely," said Pound. "That was not my intention in any way, shape or form."
Pound explained that the dispute stemmed from a misunderstanding due to errors in translation.
"[Pays de sauvages] is the term that has been used in French, which means something entirely different than savages in English, for close to 400 years," said Pound, "It's fallen out of favour now and I probably should have been more alert to the change in vocabulary. It's not derogatory."
Prior to his apology, Pound had said that the comments were misunderstood and taken out of context.
Pound, a former IOC vice-president, added that the stigma surrounding his remarks belittle the more than 50 years that he has spent combating discrimination.
"None of these people have ever had the courtesy to call me, first of all to see whether what was reported was what I actually said, and the context was what I meant," said Pound. "Did I really call anybody a savage? No I didn't."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
C. Hyde
posted 10/28/08 @ 1:07 PM EST
Now that Dick Pound has both apologised and explained, for what possible reason is Chief Stuart Philip refusing to accept it and continuing to keep the issue alive? Is it because he has an agenda and/or a bone to pick with the Vancouver Olympic Committee and finds that Mr Pound is a convenient whipping boy to further his political ends? When an apology is repeatedly extended, as Mr Pound has done, and it is repeatedly refused, one has to wonder what's Mr Philip's real motive? McGill should not be duped into acceding to Mr Philip's unwarranted demand. (Continued…)
Andrew Work, B.Sc. 94 (Hong Kong)
posted 10/28/08 @ 10:36 PM EST
Yep, much better to be spending time digging up months old remarks and grandstanding than dealing with poverty, alcoholism, land rights and economic development development. (Continued…)
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