Fsin Chief Applauds Extension for Residential School Commission

By Jason Warick
The Starphoenix
November 17, 2013

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/FSIN+chief+applauds+extension+residential+school+commission/9177178/story.html

The chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) says he’s glad the commission investigating Canada’s Indian residential school system has been granted a one-year extension.

“I welcome the extension. It’s a positive thing,” FSIN Chief Perry Bellegarde said.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which has been conducting research and hearing testimony across the country for the past few years, was to have issued its final report in June 2014. Following calls for more time from various groups, federal Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt announced the one-year extension to the commission.

“Our government remains committed to achieving a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools, which lies at the heart of reconciliation and the renewal of the relationship between aboriginal people and all Canadians,” Valcourt said in a statement.

Bellegarde said the commission’s long and successful battle to obtain thousands of residential school documents from the government means it need more time. He said the documents will help piece together the history of the schools, which the government and churches operated for more than 100 years. The final government-controlled school, located on the George Gordon First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, closed in 1996.

Bellegarde said it’s painful to dredge up memories of the schools, many of which suppressed First Nations culture, and some of which employed physically and sexually abusive staff. At the Gordon school, for example, pedophile William Starr abused scores of boys during his years teaching there.

However, the pain is outweighed by the need to know the truth and provide justice for the survivors, he said.

Bellegarde said the commission has already revealed vital new details that were previously rumoured but never proven. New research showed the federal government conducted medical and nutritional experiments on students.

“There is so much more that needs to be done,” he said.

Bellegarde said reconciliation can take many forms, not simply punishing the perpetrators or compensating students. It also means respecting diversity, sharing resources and honouring the treaties.

“We’re all in this together,” he said.