Canada Says Sorry
June 13, 2008 – 2:23 pm
A while back we told you about Austrailian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Aboriginal people and hoped that other nations who had committed injustices against various groups in the past would follow his lead. We are happy to report that this week the Canadian government did just that; using the Parliament floor to issue a formal apology to Native Canadians for forcing thousands of native children into government-run schools where many were physically or even sexually abused. The schools, which were finally shut down in the late 1970’s, also contributed to the destruction of much of the culture and traditions of various native groups.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in his speech, “Today we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, it has caused great harm and has no place in our country. In addition, the government also agreed to pay $1.9 billion to surviving students and set up a truth and reconciliation commission to document the experiences of students and help make sure they never happen again.
-JH
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