“Savage”-gate?

Though he has since publicly apologized for the remark, many are still calling for the resignation of Vancouver Olympic Committee board member and McGill University Chancellor Richard Pound over a remark he made regarding Canadian Aboriginals in an August 9 interview with the French-language newspaper, La Presse.

The remark was made in regards to the International Olympic Committee’s relationship with China. When discussing China’s 5000-year-old civilization Pound told La Presse in an interview conducted in French, “We must not forget that 400 years ago, Canada was a [pays de sauvages], with scarcely 10,000 inhabitants of European descent.”

Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, immediately denounced Pound for the comment and called for his resignation on October 17 in outrage over the “racist” remark.

On October 22, Pound announced that he would not be resigning from McGill or the IOC as he believes that his comments were simply misinterpreted.