"I think they are still in a position to protect themselves," said Cindy Blackstock, executive director of Canada's First Nations Child and Family Care Society. says.
Article author:
The Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Ottawa cautioned against admitting abuse. The school took place last year "at the hands of the federal government" in remarks prepared for liberal ministers after an unmarked grave was discovered, documents show.
Canadian media obtained documents through the Access to Information Act showing a draft speech written for Carolyn Bennett, then Minister for Royal and Indigenous Relations. . before being edited.
"I think they are still in a position to protect themselves," said Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the Canadian Indigenous Children and Family Care Association.
In May 2021, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Nation detected what it believed to be the unmarked graves of about 200 children at the site of a former boarding school near Kamloops, B.C. announced that it had found
This revelation forced approximately 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children in Canada to attend school in boarding schools, government-funded, church-run institutions. The school's legacy has fueled speculation across the country. A century. Thousands of children have experienced physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect or died.
The discovery also raised questions about what Ottawa was going to do about it.
A few days later, the Royal Office of Indigenous Relations was drafting Bennett's speech in anticipation of a possible emergency debate on the issue in the House of Commons.
That was not the case. Another form of debate took place, and it appears that the draft speech contained in the document was not the one Bennett finally delivered.
It deals with children who are suffering, and initially said they "experienced unimaginable trauma simply by attending school, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of the federal government." rice field.
Creating a speech can be a time-consuming process. Texts are often drafted by ministries and sent to ministerial staff and ministers, sometimes back and forth.
Edits contained on page 17 of the draft indicate that the words "at the hands of the federal government" have been removed. The reason for the revision was edited before the document was published to the Canadian Press.
"The government talks a lot about reconciliation," said Eleanor Sunchild, a Saskatchewan attorney and Thunderchild First advocate for his Nation. He has defended many boarding school survivors in physical and sexual abuse cases.
"But it doesn't talk about reconciliation at all. Without that word." No. However, current Minister Mark Miller said in a written statement that the federal government "takes full responsibility" for its role in the boarding school system, adding that "Indigenous children receive Including abuse."
Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for Canada's role in boarding schools in 2008 as part of the historic Indian Boarding Schools Reconciliation Agreement.
In his speech, Harper apologized for the government's "failure to protect" children in institutions, saying it "too often causes abuse and neglect."
He also apologized for separating children from their families and acknowledged the impact it will have on future generations.
Pope Francis visited Canada last month. , apologized for the boarding school on behalf of the Catholic Church, which operates more than 60% of the facilities.
The Pope has asked for forgiveness for the "evil" committed by "many Christians" against indigenous children in boarding schools. Many Indigenous leaders said they wanted an apology that specifically addressed the role of the Catholic Church.
Bill Percy, who has represented survivors seeking compensation for physical abuse, said the government may have objected to the word "in hand" in the draft.
"This means they were engaging in physical abuse," he said.
"Most direct abusers are church officials, not federal officials." He said Canada paid most of the billions of dollars distributed to people.
"When it comes down to it, the federal government has always been to blame in court." He said he sees "room to wiggle" in
"What the federal government has done is deliberately leave children in the situation where this is happening, choosing not to intervene to save them from death and save them from abuse." I did," she said. she said.
She said educational institutions, whether the Vatican or Canada, have shown a reluctance to take full accountability about boarding schools.
"My overall concern is that this is a 'dark chapter of history' that has not really acknowledged the fact that they knew their actions were wrong. Depiction by the federal government, they knew it was leading to the deaths of children.”
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