The Tenors' Remigio Pereira faces backlash for changing Canadian anthem lyrics to "All lives matter"

In response to tweets about Black Lives Matter, we've been receiving regular tweets here at the Georgia Straight in response stating "All lives matter".

The question remains whether this is an act of willful erasure of the issues at hand, or if it's out of sheer ignorance.

That same question can now be posed to a certain member of the Canadian operatic pop quartet The Tenors.

At the 87^th Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego on July 12, singer Remigio Pereira of the Victoria-based group changed the lyrics to the Canadian national anthem O Canada to "We're all brothers and sisters. All lives matter to the great."

https://twitter.com/BillCooney/status/753018770646503425

According to reports, the singer held up a sign that said "All lives matter".

The lyrical change resulted in a social media backlash.

The expression "All lives matter" is seen as a denunciation of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is attempting to address the issues of racial profiling and racial inequality by police officers towards black people.

After the incident, The Tenors issued a statement on social media to distance themselves from the actions of Pereira, who is from Ottawa.

The Tenors are deeply sorry for the disrespectful and misguided lack of judgment by one member of the group acting as a 'lone wolf' today during the singing of the Canadian national anthem at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego.

The other members of the group are shocked and embarrassed by the actions of Remigio Pereira, who changed the lyrics of our treasured anthem and used this coveted platform to serve his own political views.

Our sincere apologies and regrets go out to everybody who witnessed this shameful act, to our fellow Canadians, to Major League Baseball, to our friends, families, fans and to all those affected.

The actions of one member of this group were extremely selfish and he will not be performing with The Tenors until further notice.

The group features singers from across Canada, including Fraser Walters from Vancouver.

And if you still don't understand why saying "All lives matter" is a problem, consider this...

Or you can read this.