Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - November 13, 2024 - Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault has clarified that his changing claims about his adoptive family's identity are a reflection of his family exploring their own history, not him claiming Indigenous status.

Boissonnault's spokesperson, Alice Hansen, said that his mentions of being "adopted Cree" in Parliament in 2016 and 2018 came from an explanation from an Indigenous researcher based on the minister's understanding of his adoptive family's history.

Boissonnault's links to Indigenous identity are under scrutiny following revelations that a company he co-owned, Global Health Imports (GHI), unsuccessfully bid on two federal contracts in 2020 while declaring itself to be "Indigenous" and "Aboriginal owned."

The Liberal party has previously had to modify mentions of Boissonnault's Indigenous connection, with the party asking for the description to be changed to explain that Boissonnault's mother was Cree, but he was adopted and does not claim Indigenous heritage.