Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal, who is also a Manitoba MP, offered his view on Charles Adler's Senate appointment: “There are many eminently qualified Manitobans who are better suited to represent our province than Charles Adler.”PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press
A federal Liberal cabinet minister is criticizing Charles Adler’s appointment to the Senate, saying there are Manitobans better suited to represent the province than the veteran broadcaster who was named on the weekend.
Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, who is also a Manitoba MP, offered his view in a statement his office released on Monday, but did not elaborate on his concerns. “There are many eminently qualified Manitobans who are better suited to represent our province than Charles Adler,” he said.
Carson Debert, the Minister’s press secretary, said Mr. Vandal would have no further comment on his statement.
Mr. Vandal, a five-term city councillor in Winnipeg and deputy mayor, was first elected in Saint Boniface-Saint Vital in 2015, and was named to cabinet in 2019 as Northern Affairs Minister.
On Monday, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs also issued a statement asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor-General Mary Simon to recall Mr. Adler’s appointment.
The assembly alleges Mr. Adler had criticized First Nations’ leadership and communities in the past, once referring to Indigenous people as “uncivilized boneheads.”
“The AMC filed formal complaints against Adler’s vulgar and racist commentary in the past, and it is obvious that Canada and the Prime Minister have turned a blind eye to these offensive views when making this appointment to the Senate,” the assembly said in the statement.
New senators are recommended to Mr. Trudeau by an independent advisory board. Ms. Simon, the Governor-General, appoints individuals based on the Prime Minister’s advice.
Jenna Ghassabeh, a press secretary for the Prime Minister’s Office, said Monday that there would be no comment on Mr. Vandal’s statement. The office did not immediately respond to the statement by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, which came later in the afternoon.
In an interview Monday, Mr. Adler, who is based in Winnipeg and has been named to represent Manitoba, said he could not dispute Mr. Vandal’s criticism.
“Of course there are more qualified people. There are more qualified people than anyone at anything,” he said.
“I know Dan Vandal and Dan Vandal probably knows a little bit about me and in general, I am seen, in this town as a Conservative and Dan Vandal is a Liberal,” Mr. Adler said.
“I am assuming the people who he thinks are more qualified are the people who are Liberal and he probably sees me as Conservative, the way many people see me.”
Asked about the statement by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Mr. Adler declined to comment,
Mr. Adler said he has supported Progressive Conservatives in the past, including Ontario premier Bill Davis in the 1970s and 1980s and Peter Lougheed, Alberta’s premier from 1971 to 1985. He said he voted for former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, but broke with the party over the “barbaric cultural practices tip line” promised in the 2015 election.
“I’m a social moderate and a fiscal conservative,” he said.
As a media professional, he said it has been difficult to see federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dismiss and diminish the media, referring to his criticism of journalists in news conferences. “That’s not democratic in my eyes,” he said.
Born in Hungary, and raised in Montreal, Mr. Adler became involved in broadcasting while a McGill University student in the 1970s and went on to a career that included national radio and TV programs for the Corus Radio Network, SiriusXM Canada and Global TV over about five decades.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office announced that Ms. Simon had appointed Mr. Adler and Tracy Muggli, a retired social worker and former provincial public servant, as independent senators for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, respectively
As for Mr. Adler, the statement from Mr. Trudeau’s office noted he had, throughout his career, “used his platform to champion human rights and Canadian democracy.”
It also noted he has received such recognitions as the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association.
Mr. Adler said he spoke to Mr. Trudeau about a week ago.
“The only thing he said to me that was, I guess, semi political was he said he wanted me to be an independent today, tomorrow and the next day as I have been for my entire life,” he said.
“He said, `I am not asking you to agree with my policies. You can agree with them. You can disagree with them.’”
Sebastian Skamski, director of media relations in Mr. Poilievre’s office, said in a statement that Mr. Trudeau has appointed Liberal-leaning senators despite promising to make the Senate independent and non-partisan.
Mr. Skamski claimed Mr. Adler has been supportive of Mr. Trudeau and noted that Ms. Muggli was a candidate for the federal Liberals. She ran in 2015 and 2019 in Saskatoon but was not elected.