BishopAccountability.org
	Apology Is Long Overdue Chatham Daily News May 20, 2008 http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1034290 June 11. Mark it on your calendar. That's the day Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to apologize to Canada's native community for abuse in residential schools. For the approximately 90,000 surviving former students, it will be a "very meaningful and respectful" apology, says Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl. It should be heralded as an historic day, after many years of native leaders calling for such a gesture. It will arrive 10 years after the federal government owned up to the physical and sexual abuse in the once-mandatory schools. In 1998, then-Native Affairs Minister Jane Stewart expressed "profound regret" for Canada's shameful residential school history. It was a starting point in the process. "We can't change everything overnight. But we can certainly get started," she said. The process of reconciliation and truth is more than making amends for abuse. We hope Harper will also apologize for the philosophy behind the schools, where children were wrenched from their families and raised as orphans, without their native language and culture. It was an attempt to destroy First Nations. Not every teacher or priest in the schools was guilty of abuse. Those who did were simply transferred into different institutions, where the abuse continued. The timing of Harper's statement is significant. On June 1, the federal government will launch a truth commission, aimed at hearing testimony from former students across the country. The initiative - modeled on the South African truth and reconciliation commission after the fall of apartheid - will be a painful and emotional journey. Among the victims are Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine. The tragedy touched all corners of the country. Many of the victims reside in Chatham-Kent. Successive federal governments over the past two decades have worked to bring some justice and healing to the tragedy. For victims, especially those near the end of their lives, progress has been painfully slow. The apology doesn't make up for delays and false promises made over the years. And it does nothing to erase the abuse. It's simply a moral imperative. The apology is something that should have happened years ago. Harper should be commended for finally delivering it.
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