Canada Day `time of reflection' in light of graves find: PM
Trudeau backs Bennett despite `hurtful' text
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this Canada Day will be “a time of reflection” for Canadians following two recent discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at residential schools, and more discoveries that could follow as searches continue.
“This was an incredibly harmful government policy that was Canada's reality for many, many decades,” Trudeau said on Friday about the history of residential schools. “And Canadians today are horrified and ashamed of how our country behaved, about a policy that ripped kids from their homes, from their communities, from their culture and their language, and forced assimilation upon them.”
This week it was announced that 751 graves were found at the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. In May, 215 graves were identified at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C.
Trudeau said Canadians will have a lot to think about on Canada Day, including the past year of the pandemic and “how much we lost, how much we learned, how much we've been there for each other through difficult times.”
“At the same time, many, many Canadians will be reflecting on reconciliation, on our relationship with Indigenous peoples, and how it has evolved and how it needs to continue to evolve rapidly,” Trudeau said.
“I think this Canada Day, it will be a time of reflection on what we've achieved as a country, but what more we have to do,” he continued. “This coming Canada Day, I think we all need to pledge ourselves to doing what we can to continue that effort to make Canada better, all while respecting and listening to those for whom it's not yet a day of celebration. I think all of us need to aspire and work hard to get to the point where everyone across this country will be able to celebrate fully.”
Trudeau also addressed the controversy with Crownindigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, who stands accused of racism and misogyny over a one-word text she sent to former justice minister Jody Wilson-raybould, who is now an Independent MP.
After Wilson-raybould — who is Indigenous — tweeted that Trudeau should focus on taking concrete action on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report instead of “selfish jockeying for an election,” Bennett texted Wilson-raybould with the word “Pension?”
That's a reference to the fact Wilson-raybould and other MPS first elected in October 2015 would only qualify for their federal pension if they hold their seats through October 2021. Wilson-raybould posted Bennett's text on her Twitter account, saying it reflects the “notion that Indigenous peoples are lazy & only want $.”
Bennett has said she apologized to Wilson-raybould, and that she “let interpersonal dynamics get the better of me and sent an insensitive and inappropriate comment, which I deeply regret and shouldn't have done.”
Asked if Bennett should resign, as the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has called for, Trudeau said she will stay in her role in cabinet.
“What Minister Bennett did was wrong, was hurtful, and of course I'm deeply disappointed,” Trudeau said, adding that it was right for her to apologize. “I spoke with Carolyn Bennett this morning. I know how hard she has worked and continues to work on this important file. I know her heart, I know the effort she has put in over the years on this, and we both understand that there is now even more work for her to do. And I know we will do it together.”
Trudeau said he's also spoken with Perry Bellegarde, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, about what should happen next on the issue of residential school graves. He said $27 million is available for more searches, and that the federal government is providing $4.9 million to the
WHAT MINISTER BENNETT DID WAS WRONG, WAS HURTFUL, AND OF COURSE I'M DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED.
Saskatchewan-based Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations to conduct searches.
But asked whether he believes police or international organizations may need to become involved to investigate, Trudeau said he is focused on what the local communities want.
“At the very core of whatever next steps we take, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission laid it out clearly: we need truth,” Trudeau said. “We need to understand what happened. There needs to be accountability, absolutely. But that needs to be driven by and based on the choices and desires and needs of the people who are at the centre of this.”
Both schools where unmarked graves have been identified were operated by the Catholic Church, which has come under heavy criticism for resisting calls to release all of its records related to residential schools.
The Missionary of Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the Catholic organization that ran both schools, now says it is working with universities, archives and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to make its records available.