Bevington, Erasmus Weigh in on Residential Schools Issue

Hq Yellowknife
August 12, 2013

http://hqyellowknife.com/news/local/news/v/Local/242237/Bevington-Erasmus-weigh-in-on-residential-schools-issue1


Yellowknife, NWT - Two local leaders have waded into the debate over whether Canada's residential schools era should be referred to as a genocide.

The latest controversy came last week when Aboriginal chiefs in Manitoba complained after a Winnipeg museum scratched the word genocide from an exhibition about Canada’s treatment of aboriginals.

Western Arctic MP Dennis Bevington says we need to look into the latest revelations about residential schools. 

"What we're seeing is that there was a lot more going on in the residential schools history than we ever thought. When we see that they were using children for food experiments, when we see that there was other things like that going on by our Canadian government, those are things that have to come out. We have to acknowledge our past. If we don't acknowledge our past, how can we be a truly strong people?"

Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus says both levels of government need to make sure an investigation is thorough.

"It's concerned a lot of people, so we need to not only go to the federal government, but we need to the territorial government because this is within living memory. This is not 1940's. We're talking 1970's. So these things are close to home and we need to learn the extent of it."

At least one Conservative MP says an apology has already been issued by the Prime Minister for the residential schools era.

He says despite the new revelations of abuse another apology is not forthcoming.