Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

After Pope called residential schools 'genocide,' House of Commons should too: NDP MP

Share
OTTAWA -

A New Democrat member of Parliament said Tuesday she hopes all of her colleagues will now recognize the residential schools system as genocide, now that Pope Francis has used the term.

Leah Gazan, who represents Winnipeg Centre, tried last year to get unanimous consent from MPs in the House of Commons to press the Canadian government to call what unfolded inside residential schools a genocide.

Her motion referred to the United Nations convention on genocide adopted in 1948, which defines genocide as killing members of a group, causing them serious physical or mental harm, placing them under conditions to destroy them, imposing measures to prevent births or forcibly transferring children to another group.

Gazan said at the time that Canada's residential schools policy met all five criteria, but some voices in the House of Commons said "no," so her motion requiring unanimous consent failed.

"Having the experience of residential school survivors continually up for debate is another act of violence," Gazan said in an interview Tuesday.

"We need to be mindful of that."

The 2015 final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada labelled what happened inside residential schools a "cultural genocide," but some Indigenous leaders have since said it needs to be called a genocide, without the qualifying adjective.

During his six-day visit to Canada last week, Pope Francis apologized multiple times for the "evil" of what happened inside residential schools. But it was not until the Pope was asked about it by reporters on the flight back to Rome that he said he considered it to be a genocide.

Francis said he felt "genocide" was a technical term, when asked why he did not say it in Canada.

More than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were forced to attend these institutions, which the federal government funded and different churches operated for over a century. The Catholic Church ran a majority of the residential schools in Canada.

Thousands of Indigenous adults who were sent there as children have reported rampant physical sexual and emotional abuse, along with neglect and malnutrition. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation maintains a memorial register for students who died at residential schools and that number is now at 4,120 children.

Gazan presented her motion in June 2021, not long after the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation announced that ground-penetrating radar had located what appeared to be the remains of about 200 children buried on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

She said she is now planning to present another motion, but is still thinking about what it should say while the House of Commons is on its summer break.

"I hope that, you know, particularly members of Parliament who are really committed to reconciliation, committed to justice, will finally recognize what happened in residential schools for exactly what it was, which was a genocide.

"It's time for Parliament to acknowledge it as a genocide."

Upon the discovery of unmarked graves last years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he continues to accept the conclusion from the 2019 inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls that "what happened amounts to genocide."

Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen has not yet responded to a request for comment on Thursday from The Canadian Press about whether she sees the residential school system as a genocide.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2022.

___

If you are a former residential school survivor in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419

Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'

The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.

A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.

Local Spotlight

Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

What does New Westminster's təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.

Stay Connected