PM’s Apology Still Lacks
The apology offered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on behalf of the Canadian government and the Canadian people for the shameful residential school system and the harm that had to be endured by people of Native American communities was a historical occasion. When it comes right down to it however, if the government is not willing to make a conscientious effort to provide the people with tools and support to overcome the disadvantages they face as a result of the Canadian assimilation policy, it was in vain.
I actually find my self agreeing with Gilles Duceppe who is quoted as saying:
“This is something that must be done concretely by the government …The federal government has not invested enough for young aboriginal people.
It is so very true. In 2005, the then Liberal government met with representatives of the native communities to draft some policies and develop an aid plan, it was dubbed the Kelowna Accord by the media. When the current administration took power they scrapped the liberal plan on behalf of their own, which up to date has consisted of practically nothing.
The other complaint I have is with the way the whole apology speech and issue has been portrayed. The way the media has been covering it and the words coming out of politicians mouths almost makes it seems as if they just found out about the abuses that took place in these schools.
They shouldn’t just be apologizing for the fact that these abuses occurred within the schools, they should be apologizing for the complete inaction on behalf of the government when these schools were open. The government received report after report as early as the 1870’s on how inadequate these school’s were: the physical abuse, the lack of proper food and clothing, the haphazard to downright dangerous housing conditions, unqualified teachers, etc. These problems were all known for over 100 years; 100 years of failing to act.
If you would like to learn more about this issue I would strongly suggest A National Crime by John S. Milloy. It is a thorough, detailed and well written piece on the history of the residential school system and a government’s shameful history of inaction.
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