TORONTO—The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) is calling on the new federal government to renew commitments to residential school survivors.
The COO is calling on the next government to support residential school survivors, their families and First Nations in their decades-long journeys to close the chapter on Canada’s dark residential school history.
The previous government made several commitments over the years to fund work aimed at bringing children home and supporting those who were forced to attend residential schools.
“The party that forms the next federal government must support survivors, their families and their communities by renewing and improving on commitments that have been made in the past,” said Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict in a release April 23. “The residential school system is the darkest and most shameful part of Canada’s history. It must be met head-on if we ever want to move forward as a country.”
Many organizations and First Nations researching the institutions that their members were sent to are faced with precarious funding or even cuts. Some of these organizations have been pushed to the brink after federal funding promised by the federal government was not delivered.
Residential school denialism has also become more mainstream and acceptable, the issue even came up during the recent French-language federal leaders debate.
“We have seen how bad-faith actors have seized on language and misinformation to minimize the harms faced by First Nations people in an attempt to rewrite Canada’s genocidal history. Unfortunately, some in the political world have decided to ignore or even encourage these bad actors and that has resulted in real-world, material harms to our people,” said Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige. “The next federal government must have the courage and political will to stand with first nations and survivors across Turtle Island. We must show those who wish to cause harm to our people through action or worked that they will not be tolerated.”
The Chiefs of Ontario is calling on the new government to implement all of the obligations outlined in the Independent Special Interlocutor for missing children and unmarked graves and burial sites, associated with Indian Residential Schools final report and to extend funding to make the interlocutor’s office permanent. The Chiefs of Ontario also call on the next federal government to heed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action 71 to 76 which discuss missing children and burial sites, calling for the identification, documentation, and memorialization of burial sites.
