Natural gas rep's inappropriate comment about First Nations prompts apology and dialogue

It was a lesson Khalid Bai learned the hard way: what goes around on the Internet comes back around.

The Calgary-based business development manager has been the subject of online hatred, racism, and threats after he posted a racist comment on a HuffPost B.C. article last week implying that Indigenous people in Canada are lazy alcoholics. Bai removed his remarks over the weekend, but not before they reached 15,000 people on Twitter, were shared more than 420 times on Facebook, and were captured on camera by the article's author, Andrew Frank.

"Speaking of First Nation," Bai wrote, "do you have any idea how much money the shareholders of this project have to pay these people so that they can maintain their so-called lifestyle, so that they can just lie there doing nothing but drink?"

His comments were written in response to an article criticizing the Trudeau government's recent approval of the Pacific Northwest LNG project near Prince Rupert, B.C. — a project that has been strongly opposed by many First Nations and environmentalists. Bai works for Huadian Natural Gas Canada Limited — a subsidiary of China Huadian Corp, which is a minority stakeholder in the controversial LNG project.

The article's author, Andrew Frank, challenged Bai's comments as soon as he saw them. Bai eventually replied, "Which part of the comment is racist?"

Apology following online backlash

Bai has since offered his "sincere" apologies for his comments, and in a private Facebook message with National Observer, admitted he "shouldn't have said that." He clarified that his views are not the views of his employer, and that they were made as part of "an impulsive act."

"As a matter of fact, my employer, along with other shareholders in the project have been working very diligently and closely with the FN (First Nations) groups and government," he explained. "I personally don't have any hard feelings against the FN people and as a matter of fact, I myself am from the minority group."

Bai has since received piles of hate mail over the Internet, including several messages directing him to "go back to China," and "get a REAL job in your country, asshole." Commentators on Facebook even called for him to be fired. Bai's employer, Huadian Natural Gas Canada Limited, did not respond to multiple calls for comment in time for publication of this story.

Bai emphasized again to National Observer that he sincerely apologizes for his comments, but said he hopes members of the public will still be willing to engage online in meaningful discussion about the benefits of Pacific Northwest LNG. That was his original intent, he explained, but the way he expressed it was "not appropriate."

"I hope people would focus more on what is the best interest for Canada, environment protection and economic development can go hand in hand," he said. "There will be different views on such major energy projects vs governments climate change plan. I regret that my mistake has sparked the discussion in a wrong way and hope to make things right."

First Nations criticize "lack of education"

Hereditary Chief Na'Moks (John Risdale) of the Office of the Wet'suwet'en strongly condemned Bai's comments. The Wet'suwet'en are a First Nation in western B.C. that oppose the Pacific Northwest LNG project, and in May, sought support in their battle against it from the United Nations.

Chief Na'Moks said Bai must be held accountable as a "professional." He also condemned the racist responses triggered by Bai's own comments, and proposed that education — not hatred — is the best way to combat ignorance.

“Quite obviously he has to be educated on who we are," he told National Observer. "For him to have that narrow-minded, extremely hurtful comments out there — it’s a lack of education, a lack of intelligence, a lack of respect, and a lack of knowing that there is a future for everybody together.”

He called the comments "immature," and said that while Bai doesn't deserve to be threatened the way he has, he should know that, "an apology does go a long way, but when people hear, see or read something, it’s in their minds forever."

The HuffPost article's author, Andrew Frank, agreed.

"When we try to confront these issues online, it sometimes produces this online mob effect," he told National Observer, after responding to dozens of phone calls, Tweets and emails in response to his Facebook post about Bai's comments.

“For me, starting that actual conversation, there were views or sentiments being expressed that I was uncomfortable with, or to me, seemed racist or hateful. I occasionally had to delete ones that looked really scary, but also when you’ve got people who have experienced racism and they’re seeing it expressed by someone who works for a company that ostensibly, they feel is part of a second round of colonialism in their backyard, it’s pretty hard to tell them how to feel or to be politically correct when they’re feeling pretty oppressed and that view is so symbolic of it.

“It’s been interesting navigating that. I feel like it’s information that should be shared.”

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