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Sooke Brewing Company fired owner John Adair and temporarily closed after a photograph showed him wearing a Show Me the Evidence T-shirt on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. T'Sou-ke First Nation councillor Debra Lazzar and UVic experts describe the hurt and call for meaningful accountability.
Sooke Brewing Company has temporarily closed and fired one of its owners, John Adair, after a photograph showed him wearing a Show Me the Evidence T-shirt on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The image, submitted to CTV News, was taken at the Sooke brewery on Sept. 30, 2026, which is also Orange Shirt Day. The photograph sparked widespread backlash online and drew strong criticism from the Sooke community and beyond. The brewery initially acknowledged the photograph in a social media statement, saying the shirt's message was inconsistent with what the business stands for.
Brewery Owner Terminated After Tshirt Controversy
The company said Sept. 30 should be a day to honour residential school survivors, remember the children who never returned home and acknowledge the ongoing harms caused by the residential school system. The company added that what occurred at our brewery was inappropriate and unacceptable. The brewery's response changed shortly afterward. Sooke Brewing Company announced that John Adair had been terminated, effective immediately, and that the brewery would close for the day.
We are devastated by his actions and sincerely apologize for the hurt they have caused, the company said. The brewery later announced that John Adair had been terminated and said the brewery would close temporarily. The brewery also said it had reached out to First Nations leadership to listen to concerns and determine what should happen next. CTV News reached out to Sooke Brewing Company for an interview but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The fallout has since moved beyond social media, prompting a deeper conversation in Sooke about residential schools, the historical record and what meaningful accountability should look like. For Debra Lazzar, an elected councillor with T'Sou-ke First Nation, the photograph was particularly difficult to see after a full day of community events marking Sept. 30. Lazzar said the community had gathered at an Orange Shirt Day celebration in Sooke to hear from speakers and elders and share Indigenous teachings and knowledge.
Local Leader Shares Family Residential School History
Her own family has a direct connection to the residential school system. Her father attended a day school, while her uncle attended Kuper Island Residential School. She said the effects of that history continue to reach across generations, including for survivors who were unable to attend the Sept. 30 gathering because of trauma. I am the first generation that has not attended residential school in my family, Lazzar said.
Lazzar said that history made the timing of the photograph particularly painful. She said some people in the community may view the incident differently, but that does not diminish the impact on survivors, their families or Indigenous people who marked the day. It was really hurtful, she said. Lazzar said she reached out to the brewery because she wanted to have a conversation about what could happen next.
She suggested the business could support future Orange Shirt Day events, establish a scholarship for T'Sou-ke students pursuing post-secondary education or contribute to programs supporting Indigenous women. She also offered to help arrange a meeting between the brewery and members of the community, describing a face-to-face gathering as a culturally appropriate way of addressing the harm. I think action is needed, Lazzar said. An apology is not good enough.
Expert Highlights Extensive Residential School Documentation
Ry Moran, an associate university librarian at the University of Victoria whose work focuses on Indigenous affairs and reconciliation, said the historical record surrounding residential schools is extensive. Moran worked directly for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as its director of statement gathering. He said he was involved in collecting approximately 7,000 statements from residential school survivors and their families, along with about five million documents.
Moran said the survivor accounts he heard showed remarkable consistency across the country, even when people had never spoken to one another. There is absolutely no question in my mind whatsoever that what survivors have been saying happened in residential schools did, in fact, occur, Moran said. Moran said there is an important distinction between asking questions about history and dismissing evidence that has already been extensively documented. It's good that people have questions, Moran said.
The real concern is about where do you turn to get the answers for those questions. His comments point to the scale of the documentation assembled through the commission and the role survivor testimony plays in the public record. Rebecca Johnson, a University of Victoria law professor whose areas of expertise include Indigenous legal research, said Sept. 30 carries a particular significance that sets it apart from an ordinary political argument about residential schools.
She said the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is intended to create space for remembrance, acknowledgment and reflection. Johnson said it is not a day for a fight. She said it is a day to have the breath in, to acknowledge where we have been and where we want to go. Her comments came as the Sooke incident continued to draw attention to questions about how communities mark the day and how businesses respond when harm occurs.
The brewery's temporary closure and the termination of John Adair followed the online backlash, while Lazzar's proposed measures and her offer to arrange a community meeting remain among the possible next steps in Sooke.
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CP24:Sooke brewery owner terminated after ‘Show Me the Evidence’ shirt sparks backlash on Truth and Reconciliation Day 
CTVNews:Sooke brewery owner terminated after ‘Show Me the Evidence’ shirt sparks backlash on Truth and Reconciliation DayThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Sooke Brewing Company John Adair National Day For Truth And Reconciliation T'sou-Ke First Nation Debra Lazzar Residential Schools Sooke Show Me The Evidence T-Shirt
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