Canada chief hails Charles for ‘first step on road to healing’ over past horrors
THE Prince of Wales has been praised for listening and acknowledging the plight of indigenous communities in Canada in what leaders have described as a crucial ‘first step’ towards healing.
However he stopped short of a full apology on behalf of the Queen for the ‘assimilation and genocide’ of thousands of First Nation children in residential schools across the country.
Charles and Camilla’s three- day tour of Canada, where the Queen is head of state, has come amid a major national scandal that has been referred to as Canada’s ‘dark past’.
It was sparked by the discovery of hundreds of bodies at former state-run church schools, which forcibly took indigenous children from their families to ‘assimilate’ them into wider Canadian society.
Some 150,000 youngsters were victims of the policy – and often subjected to sexual and physical abuse or death – over a period that stretched from the 19th century right up until the 1970s.
RoseAnne Archibald, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, appealed to the future king during a reception in Ottawa on Wednesday night which was also attended by indigenous leaders and prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Speaking about their meeting, Miss Archibald said: ‘I asked for an apology from his mother the Queen, the head of the Anglican church, for whatever happened in the institutions of assimilation and genocide. I also asked for an apology for the failures of the Crown in that relationship that we have with them.
‘One of the things he did say was that he recognised there had been failures by those who are responsible for that relationship with the Crown. I thought that was a really – not a surprising thing that he said – but that kind of acknowledgement really meant something.’ But she added: ‘It’s not enough. It’s a first step. We have yet to hear an apology and when that apology happens that again will just be one step on the road to healing for First Nations.’
In a speech during the first day of his tour, Charles pledged to listen and learn from Canadians ‘coming to terms with the darker aspects of their past’.
Cassidy Caron, national council president of the Metis people, said the prince was ‘listening’ and ‘acknowledging’ what had happened in Canada’s past which was ‘very important’ for the country.
‘Really meant something’