This weekend Ms Soapbox was going to write a breezy little blog saying she was taking the summer off. She was going to wish everyone a safe and pleasant summer and ask them to check back here on September 5, 2021, to resume the battle of trying to stay ahead of the Kenney government’s ill-conceived policies.
Then it happened again. 751 unmarked graves containing the remains of Indigenous children and adults, were discovered on the site of the Marieval Residential School at Cowessess.
These will be added to the 215 unmarked graves discovered at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School and thousands more yet to be discovered.
We should have been prepared for the sheer horror of these discoveries, but we were not.
We ignored and downplayed the stories of the survivors, we refused to acknowledge this part of our history as an act of genocide, and we’ve been complicit with the governments and churches responsible.
We continue to have divisive arguments about statues when we should be joining forces to compel governments and churches to provide the access and funding necessary to locate all the graves so missing and murdered children can be identified and properly honoured.
We need to support Indigenous communities and take meaningful action to eliminate systemic racism, discrimination and injustice. We need to demand the federal and provincial governments act more quickly in implementing the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, including a papal apology here on Canadian soil.
Yes, I’ll be taking the summer off from the Soapbox. But there is much to do, and we need to do it together.
So be safe. Take care of yourselves. And I’ll see you in the fall.
Susan on the Soapbox 
Disgusting behaviour and a cover up. I agree. Apologies should be made and implementation of the 94 recommendations. Have a restful summer with your family, Ms. Soapbox.
Thanks Linda. One of the 94 recommendations was a public apology from Pope Francis here on Canadian soil. So far there’s no indication that he’s prepared to do so.
People defending the Pope say the Catholic Church is not one unified organization and the Pope isn’t responsible for what the church’s officials did years ago.
I don’t buy it. Firstly, if the Church isn’t one monolithic entity then the Pope should have no issue with churches that ordain women and let their priests marrying. Secondly, this is a church not a corporation that can invoke the corporate veil to shield itself from accountability. The pope is at the top of the hierarchy, he must apologize.
Agreed! In simple terms he is the boss re every decision until this happens? He has given apologies in other cases, not this one?
Indeed. Isn’t the Pope also the head of the only Church in the world that is also a sovereign nation?
Jerrymacgp: according to Google, the Pope is the ex officio sovereign of Vatican City and delegates executive authority to the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State. The Pope is also the head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He’s apologized before, he can do it again, if he wants to.
Trudeau says we are morally superior to China because we had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, even though that missed a few things.
I have not seen anyone asking how so much was overlooked.
Yes this sounds a bit like an alcoholic telling a weed smoker that he is on drugs.
Keith this is an important point. I suspect Trudeau, Cabinet, heck all of us, will be called upon to explain our inaction. And there is no explanation, simply a decision to give the TRC calls to action a lower priority than they merited. But now is the time to rectify that, if we slump back into inaction after what we’ve discovered and will continue to discover as more and more unmarked graves are located, then that is as egregious a betrayal as the decision to set up the residential school system as a tool to implement genocide.
Susan you always make me stop and think. I worked as a speech pathologist in a special clinic and had many patients who were Indigenous over the years. Never once did it cross my mind that the parents of my patients may have been in residential schools or that their grandparents had or most likely their grandparents. How difficult to grow up surrounded by post traumatic stress and grief and mistrust. I understood so little about the Indigenous culture and made barely an effort to stop and think and listen and learn. Had I been more sensitive maybe I could have made a difference.
Thank you for your efforts to keep us educated and thoughtful. Enjoy your summer, you deserve a break. In the meantime I will be taking some time to think about where my energies will go. Blessings
Sharon, thank you!
Like you I was not aware of the real purpose of residential schools or that they were around up to the 1990s.
I just watched a TED talk by US history prof Hasan Kwame Jeffries who discusses the role of history in fighting racism. He said people hate history and love nostalgia, they want stories about the past that make us feel comfortable about the present. His point was we have to teach “hard history” (truthful history) in order to get justice. To do anything less is to be complicit in the ongoing racism and discrimination.
The concept of hiding the truth behind nostalgia reminded me of Jason Kenney’s take on John A MacDonald and his role in this genocidal policy.
Have a wonderful summer. See you in the fall.
Love your post Susan, and this reply to Sharon. Yes, “hard history” can be hard, but denial only postpones what will later become even harder. Face the facts, Pope Francis, and come to Canada to apologize on Indigenous soil. You’re hiding behind a shroud of religion that should haunt a moral man. Do the honourable thing, even though it’s dishonourably late. Have an enjoyable, cool summer, Susan, and come back ready to continue informing Albertans of the dishonourable policies of our premier and the UCP. What a service you provide! Can’t thank you enough.
Thanks Judy, I loved the reference to “a shroud of religion that should haunt a moral man.”
So the summer will be spent watching whatever else it is Kenney intends to spring on us, hoping we’re not paying attention. But we see him, we’ll all call him out. That’s what civil society does.
It a horrific and dismal part of Canadian history, one that make celebrating Canada Day somewhat troublesome, to say the least. How can we, in all good conscience, celebrate while so many continue to grieve?
Carol, Exactly. How do we celebrate in a vacuum without taking full accountability for this appalling piece of our history and its corrosive effects today.
And while we’re on the topic of appalling things, when will Kenney stop supporting Chris Champion, the guy who wrote chunks of the K-6 social studies curriculum which downplays and misleads students about residential schools.
It’s been said history was written by the victors and apparently Kenny would like to keep the whole we’re nice and good and polite etc. etc. because we’re Canadians. So many people are so unaware of Canada’s sins, and there are plenty but worst of all is the treatment of our First Nations peoples. I thank you for using your blog to point out the lack of accountability in the past (and present come to that, Kenny is a good example).
I don’t understand how any reasonable person can support the twisting of facts, but Kenny excels at that, too.
What is wrong with us as a society? I watched a mother duck go back across a busy street because one of seven ducklings was missing but we just seem to say “Oh well?” We have to do better.
You’re absolutely right Rose…we all have to do better. The first step would be to call out those who want to pretend all this happened in the past and we don’t need to bother our pretty little heads about it now. That only reinforces the status quo, which means nothing changes.
That’s immoral as far as I’m concerned.
Thank you for doing this Susan. Have a wonderful summer.
Here is little video from Robert Reich that might spark additional activism on this and all kinds of issues.
https://robertreich.org/post/183902640290
Take care. Stay safe.
Mike
>
Thanks Mike for the wonderful link to Robert Reich’s site. He is so gifted at cutting through the dust storm to show us what is really going on. Interestingly in the top article he mentioned that at the end of the day this is all about power, who has it and what they’ll do to keep it. One of my friends sent me a clip on white supremacy which made the exact same point. I’ll see if I can find it and attach it to this answer.
You have a wonderful summer!
Will miss you very much
Thank you Jim…when I come back we’ll need to do a post on “How I spent my summer vacation”. I for one am not spending a second of it at the Stampede!
Word Press is irritating today so I will try again
Susan have a good Summer and thank you so very much for great blogs and especially allowing the rest of us that are not UCPs to have our own voice. I am surprised you were not approached (I think) by the War Room useless employees that pretend to be what they are not.
I agree with you except for the part of the Pope having to apologize in Canada. I have no interest in having the pope and his entourage of cardinals here. It costs a fortune to have these representatives of God on Earth and for what? It seems he is not interested in an apology and I personally think that putting to much emphasis on him it just gives him more importance than he deserves. This idea of representing god on Earth is archaic and for a lot of us it has no meaning whatsoever. The Pope to me is the CEO of an organization that has shown throughout history to be more or less decrepit, corrupt and in many ways criminal. So what is it that Catholics continue to hang on to – it seems the same reasons people cannot escape their misery in the Church of Scientology – CULTS. Those who are offended with what I just said please let me know why. I like a good discussion.
Carlos, it’s not just you, I too was having trouble with WordPress yesterday, it glitched when I tried to install a plug-in (well, when my daughter tried to install a plug-in for me) and we were fighting with it all evening.
But on the substance of your comment. Like you I don’t see the value of the Pope and his entourage showing up here but this is something the survivors, their families and their communities have asked for in the TRC’s call to action #58 so it’s meaningful to them. As such it should happen. It’s not without precedent. In 2010 the pope apologized to the Irish victims of sex abuse and in 2018 he apologized for the abuse of unwed Irish women and their babies in Catholic schools and workhouses. So why the refusal to do the same now?
Susan: In Edmonton, a Polish Roman Catholic church, had the statue of Pope John Paul, “vandalized” with red paint. There were handprints, and footprints on and by the statue. There are people who think this is not acceptable. What the First Nations went through is not acceptable.
Dwayne
You are absolutely right. Unacceptable to vandalize the statue of someone that means death to our indigenous people? Why?
Statues vandalized versus real kids being tortured and in some instances killed by lack of decent treatment. I have even rea d that in certain schools where the nuns and priests were a bit more crazy they had electrical chairs.
How would you feel if your kids or grand kids were taken by force and abused by the mafia that have the Pope as their spiritual leader. Furthermore you had no right to know about them and if they died you were not told about it. This is a horrible experience and I can assure you that statue would not be there if I was one of the parents. In fact not even Justin Trudeau would be prime minister because I would create terrorism in this country until this matter was decently dealt with and not just this offer of money.
Only idiots like Jason Kenney can ignore this in his own because he participated in similar issues like the one against gays in San Francisco. I know I have said this about 3 times but I want to use the same strategies these people use on us to cement their lies. The only difference is that this is absolutely true.
Carlos: Here is an interesting interview featuring Carlos Santana. It’s from 1992. It is quite profound.
Carlos: Look at what else just happened. It never seems to end.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/04/business/tc-energy-pipeline-climate/index.html
it never ends
Susan: Thanks for another great blog. This is so heartbreaking to hear this. I thought I’d share something from a very good singer/songwriter that I’ve seen live. Buffy Sainte Marie is is an amazing First Nations artist, originally from Saskatchewan. Here is My Country ‘Tis of Thy People You’re Dying. It’s from the 1960s. Very profound lyrics. I hope you and your family have a great summer.
Dwayne, thanks for the amazing link. The focus is on the US but the words are equally relevant to Canada. The line that really caught my heart (and there were several) was this one: “Oh, what can I do?”, say a powerless few. With a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye. Can’t you see that their poverty’s profiting you?” We can be more than the “powerless few”.
Wishing you and your family a great summer!
These graves weren’t just “discovered” in the same way Columbus didn’t “discover” America. The existence of these unmarked graves were known for a long time and they date back to pre-ww1 and they contain mostly people who died of tuberculosis rampant at the time. There was no coverup. The TRC devotes a volume to this subject.
Click to access Volume_4_Missing_Children_English_Web.pdf
If there is a hero in all this it would be Dr P H Bryce who worked for Indian Affairs and who campaigned for increased medical resources to curb the tb epidemic among FN people in western Canada. He was eventually turfed out of the dept. A little background.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/the-policy-battle-that-set-the-stage-for-a-century-of-residential-school-death-misery-grief/wcm/97b937d6-0f29-46c3-8b0d-45315bfb54f8/amp/
If you really want to get into the nitty gritty of this here is a phamplet he published in 1922.
Click to access AppJusIndCan1922.pdf
He blames the federal government for its failure to act and not the schools who were swamped with infected children in those early days and tried to cope. In this respect, the residential schools have become a convenient whipping boy for people venting emotions being convinced by media reports these were secret mass graves finally seeing the light of day.
Thanks for this ronmac: Excellent points. I’d like to understand who made the decision not to teach Canadians about the purpose of residential schools and what really went on there. (I mean other than our very own Jason Kenney) I went to public school in Saskatchewan until I reached grade 7, then switched to a BC public school for grades 7 to 12. I do not recall ever being taught about what was really going on this these schools and why. I asked my kids about their school experience, they too said they’d never received instruction on this.
Well said, Susan!
Thank you Joe. Have a wonderful summer!
Thank you for making time to write about this important topic, Ms. Soapbox.
Last week CBC resurrected a story (link below) that details how, in 1907, the Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Peter Bryce, wrote a report for the (then) Department of Indian Affairs describing the appalling conditions at residential schools, and how they were leading to incomprehensibly high death rates in the schools. The Department of Indian Affairs, and the federal government, did their best to bury the report and silence Dr. Bryce. Eventually they forced him out of the civil service.
Today we removing the names of some of the architects of the residential school system from buildings etc., to ‘de-glorify’ the people involved. I think it would be really appropriate to rename some of the buildings after Dr. Bryce.
Following some of the links provided by the article, I eventually came upon the government’s response to the report. When I read the excuses listed in the government’s response, I was really struck by how similar it sounded to the excuses given by governments for not doing something about climate change.
In the past few years, the Canadian government has apologized to several groups for misdeeds committed by previous governments. While I acknowledge the need for these apologies, it does make me wonder what we are doing today that future governments will have to apologize for.
Thank you for all the work you do on your blog, Susan, and enjoy your summer.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/exploring-the-past-finding-connections-in-little-known-indigenous-history-1.5531914/pushed-out-and-silenced-how-one-doctor-was-punished-for-speaking-out-about-residential-schools-1.5534953
I am sure we will be apologizing about climate change if we survived it.
Registering a temperature of 46.6 in BC is quite telling I think.
According to Environment Canada the ‘domed’ created over BC and Alberta is actually warmer at the mountains altitude meaning that the glacier are melting even faster than normal.
39 is predicted for tomorrow in Edmonton.
Carlos, wow, 39 in Edmonton. We’re looking at 36, 36, and 37 through to Thursday when it finally drops to 28. 28 for God’s sake!
Our children and grand children will never forgive us. Can you imagine that conversation? “Grandpa/Grandma, why didn’t you do anything when the glaciers melted and the rivers dried up and the forests burned?” It will not help us to say “Well, we didn’t take it seriously, we thought technology (which hadn’t been invented yet) would save us, we needed the jobs, blah blah blah.”
Sometimes I despair for humanity, but we can’t give up. We have to keep going.
Susan actually the first forecast was 42 to Edmonton tomorrow but they scaled it back to 39.
Today is 34 and it is bad enough
Carlos: There is this matter.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-alberta-securities-regulator-hears-complaints-about-bids-for-inter/
Carlos: There is also this.
https://www.autoblog.com/2021/07/10/oil-sand-carbon-cost/
Bob, thanks for the links to the story about Dr Bryce and your astute observation that the governments’ excuses for not doing something about his reports sound hauntingly similar to their excuses for not doing something to mitigate climate change in a timely fashion. Seems to me it all boils down to power, weak governments won’t confront the powerful, strong governments will.
I hope you and your family enjoy their summer.
The work Canadians can do is open our eyes and hearts and stop looking at indigenous as leaches on our country. That attitude is part of why the residential school infrastructure was never addressed.
Have an amazing summer.
Crystal you’ve raised an important point, we won’t open our eyes and hearts until we are forced to confront the “hard truth” of history, and those who hide behind “well, John A MacDonald was the Father of Confederation, without him we’d have nothing” are missing the point. John A’s achievements in one area do not exculpate him for creating residential schools in the first place.
Have a lovely summer!
Susan: I’d just like to share another great piece of live music. It’s from A Day On The Green, in Oakland California, on July 2, 1977. It is Baby I Love Your Way, by Peter Frampton. Peter Frampton was in the groups The Herd, and Humble Pie, (a supergroup). Peter Frampton was also part of Ringo Starr And His All Star Band. I remember this song from the 1970s. I did see Peter Frampton live. If we can’t see live music, we can see these things.
Dwayne, thanks for the clip. It seems to me you’ve seen many great musicians live. Aren’t you a lucky man! 🙂
‘As of 4 p.m. on Monday, Lytton had hit 47.5 C — and the temperature was still rising, according to Environment Canada. For context, that’s hotter than the hottest temperature ever recorded in Las Vegas, at about 47.2 C.’
Amazing is it not.
I am sure Jason Kenney thinks this is God testing us but we still need one more boom in our oil business. Make he will get a boom in forest fires.
sorry I meant
Maybe he will get a boom in forest fires
Carlos, if people don’t wake up to the dangers of global warming after this record breaking heat wave, I don’t know what it will take to get through to them. And yes, I understand that weather and climate change are not the same thing, but what we’ve experienced, including all the unnecessary deaths, is a taste of what’s to come if we don’t rein in our emissions.
“Sometimes I despair for humanity, but we can’t give up. We have to keep going.”
“…going, going, going, GONE! Sold to the tailed and horned gentleman holding the pitchfork.”
Just kidding Susan, have a lovely summer. Let Nietzsche’s ‘blond beast’ side of humanity deal with itself for awhile, it deserves it.
Regardless of when your next piece comes, I will be looking forward to it.
GoinFawr: your going, going, gone comment made me smile. I must admit when I wrote it I felt a little pollyanna-ish but later I was talking to a friend who said democracy demands a lot of its citizens, especially when its under siege. So bring on the horned gentleman with the pitchfork, torches or pitchforks, we’re ready for them.
Have a great summer.
So, a couple of things here I guess. First of all I have to say that I feel ashamed that I have lived as long as I have and been completely unaware of what has gone on with residential schools. My first reaction is that we need to own this as a nation and recognize that it is a shameful part of what has brought us to where we are are now. Glossing over this or waiting for it to blow over isn’t acceptable. We need to demand action from our current and future governments to enact positive change. I can’t imagine that there is any form of restitution that could be considered enough.
In light of Susan’s pending hiatus, I offer this. My spouse and I watched ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ on Netflix tonight. Early on in the movie I had the thought that nothing much has changed in politics since the 1960’s. I’m sure that won’t come as much of a revelation to those of you who have followed politics longer than I have or are simply smarter than me, and I have no doubt that many readers here fit that description. Near the end of the movie, one of the characters was asked in court if he felt contempt for the government and his answer was:
“I think the institutions of our democracy are wonderful things that right now are populated by some terrible people.”
For me, that sums up where we are today in Alberta. At the same time it highlights how important this forum, and all others like it, are vital in preserving our democracy by providing a home for dissenting voices.
So once again I thank you Susan. I hope you have a wonderful summer with your family. I look forward to reading your words again in September. Until then, stay well.
Guy: Like you I was aware of the existence of residential schools but ignorant of the horrors that occurred there. While it’s tempting to blame the government and the Church for burying this history, the fact remains that the TRC report came out in 2015 and we (I) failed to act on it by pressuring my government (provincial and federal) to implement the 94 recommendations. To fail to step up now would be beyond shameful.
PS I too watched “The Trial of the Chicago 7”. Lots of wonderful statements there including the one you shared in your comment.
Have a great summer!
Hehe, Susan, I think you meant “Guy” there.
On the other hand, I’m not offended at all by being mistaken for that poster, since I agree with you both!
Thanks for pointing that out GoinFawr: I fixed it (I think). I must admit this heat is sapping me and my brain is not fully functional anymore!
Just one more thing, I promise. Sometimes music says more than words can alone. I thought of putting a link to Bruce Cockburn’s ‘Stolen Land’ or ‘Indian Wars’ here but I’ll leave it to anyone who is musically inclined to search those out on their own. This one felt right tonight. This is Rachelle Van Zanten’s ‘My Country’ and it isn’t simply a protest song. This is filmed in the region where she lives and I feel it’s as honest as any song can be. I hope you enjoy.
Guy: I saw Bruce Cockburn live, and met him. He did do Stolen Land, as part of the set.
Dwayne, from the links you have posted and the comments that go along with them I think it’s fair to say that we have similar taste in music. I’ve seen Cockburn in concert a handful of times over the years but never had the opportunity to meet him. He’s one of my favourites for sure and I think his body of work is incredible.
Guy: Wow. That brought tears to my eyes. Thank you!
Bear in mind Mr.Revard is a poet:
A Brief Guide to American History Teachers
by
Carter Revard
Q: Name several American Holocausts,
the nations involved, and the places where these were accomplished.
A: Missouri, Illinois, Miami, New England, Virginia, and most place names in the United States. For more advanced students, the answer can extend to North and South America.
Q: What kind of un-American creep would give that answer?
A: A Native American. Of course, a truly patriotic American might have known better than to ask the question. In such cases, silence is the only effective way to avoid acknowledging guilt. There have been no American Holocausts, and we all should realize this truth. It is self- evident, since we believe all men are created equal, that we would not do what those nasty Europeans did. They are racist bigots, We are the people who got rid of the old prejudices and refused to do terrible things. We have pure hearts, pure motives, and pure history.
Q: What advantages are there to the true Americans if they deny that there has been any American Holocaust?
A: It allows them to be outraged at other monsters. Also, it lets them focus on the terrible things done overseas so that no one will notice what is still going on here. Since there was only the one Holocaust, we can be wonderfully virtuous in supporting its victims, and we know that we do not have to worry about being on the right side. So this justifies our putting up a monument in Washington, D.C. to that one Holocaust, and not putting anything there which hints that there was anything like it in this country.
Q: Is this matter relevant to the origins, makeup, and functions of the United Nations?
A: Yes. I do not dare, however, answer in more detail. No true American can afford to consider the question of whether Native American nations are truly sovereign. De facto, de Deo, must be their only refuge. When Franklin Roosevelt, about 1942, discussed the postwar realignments with Winston Churchill, he reminded Churchill of what the English were doing in their African colonies. Churchill then reminded Roosevelt of two cases: blacks in Mississippi, and Navajos in Arizona. Roosevelt shut up. It is the only safe answer.
Q: So your conclusion is that American history should not be taught?
A: Of course not: it never has been, and this is no time to begin doing so.
Link: http://www.hanksville.org
GoinFawr: A very thought provoking set of Q and A, particularly the last set…should American history be taught, no, it’s never been taught, don’t start now. Chris Champion takes it one step further, he’s okay with teach kids about residential schools in grade 10, but he wants to point out they weren’t such bad places, look at all those children sitting in their places with their smiley little faces. What on earth is everyone complaining about?
Anyone but Kenney would have cut this guy loose months ago.
The only real difference between the way Canadian governments have historically treated the Indigenous peoples living within the territory we call “Canada”, and the Holocaust, is simple efficiency. While the Third Reich had been oppressing, deporting, imprisoning German — and, after 1938, Austrian — Jews since 1933, they didn’t really get going at The Final Solution until 1941, after the invasion of the Soviet Union, first with the deployment of the Einsatzgrüppen, then the construction of the first purpose-built extermination camps. But had they not started the Second World War by their invasion of Poland in September 1939, and then invaded Soviet Russia in June 1941 — ending the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with a bang — the world might never have known about any of this, since it was only through the Red Army’s liberation of the death camps in the closing months of the way that the true scale & scope of the atrocity came to light.
Canadian governments of the 19th & early 20th centuries were just as driven to exterminate Indigenous people, or at least exterminate their languages & cultures & everything that made them who they are, as the Nazis were to exterminate the Jews of Europe. They didn’t employ the ruthless German efficiency & industrialization of murder that characterized the Holocaust, but, then again, they also weren’t engaged in armed conflict on Canadian soil either. Canadian governments instead basically “contracted out” this campaign to the churches, the largest of which was the Roman Catholic Church, although many Protestant denominations were also involved. Dr Bryce aside, few Canadians were aware of what was going on, or if they were, objected to it.
Along with having their younger generations stolen from them, Indigenous people were forbidden to vote, serve in the military, or go to university, lest they lose their “Indian” status and the treaty benefits that went with it. For a time, they even needed passes issued by the “Indian agent” to leave their reserves — any similarities to the Warsaw ghetto are purely coincidental.
Now, I’m sure that all, or almost all, of the architects of this appalling system are long dead, so it will be difficult to assign blame or hold anyone living accountable. But let’s remember, the residential schools aren’t a relic of an ancient part: the last of them didn’t close until 1997, which really isn’t all that long ago. (After all, the Canadian political class is still skittish & gun-shy about revisiting the Constitution, even though the Charlottetown referendum was way back in 1992, five years before the last residential school closed). And Canada, as a country, needs to be held to account, and it’s the governments of today — and we, the polls that elect them — that have inherited that grim legacy, for good or ill.
Jerrymacgp: thanks for this, your last paragraph says it all. It is up to each of us to hold Canada accountible for what happened in the past and what is still happening today. Trudeau does a better job of saying the right things than most conservatives, but it’s been over 5 years since the TRC issued its report. We’re well past the time for words, it’s time to act.
Jerry just adding to what you said
John Diefenbaker fought hard for the expulsion of South Africa from the Commonwealth while our residential schools were hard at work in their cultural genocide as well as worse.
In 1994 Brian Mulroney, 4 years before our last Residential School closed invited Mandela to Canada to talk to a common session of Parliament and Senate on the horrors of apartheid.
Sanctions were then applied against South Africa.
The hypocrisy of these events is so beyond my concept of decency that I will not make any more comments.
Believing that either John Diefenbaker, Mulroney or any of them for that matter had no idea what was happening in the Residential Schools is to me as bad as any conspiracy theory about climate change, covid and other issues on the Internet these days. Some pretty close to the hearts of some of our leaders in the Conservative party.
Thank you Carlos. These are important facts that demonstrate our hypocrisy as a nation and underline the urgent need for action.
Carlos: This is also very interesting.
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/06/canada-british-empire-indigenous-children-unmarked-graves
Avoid the rhetoric Susan, there is enough of it. This was happening all over the world at the time. Diphtheria, Measles, Chicken pox, influenza all which have been pushed aside now with science and vaccinations. Grave markers missing. They were wooden crosses which probably rotted of with time.
John Clark
John: the fact this was happening all over the world doesn’t excuse us from being accountable for what has happened and continues to happen here in Canada. I would urge you to read the TRC report.
The Conservatives when faced with an environment problem, will write a new set of laws to cover whatever situation they happen to have. Then, they will fire the staff or most of the staff who were to answer phones or enforce laws.
Then, when taking complaints from the public, will parade out this crisp new set of laws saying “look what we did!” and “this proves it is not our fault” Not only is this done on environmental issues it is done any time the need arises.
Well I tried this as a reply to John Clark but WordPress is not cooperating so I will post it without being a reply
John with all due respect not all the discussion about this issue is rhetoric and avoiding it what we have been doing for decades. I am sure if these unmarked graves were your kids taken by the state and abused in different ways you would not be so fast making the comment ‘rotted of with time’. You do because just like most of us have done is dismiss it as unimportant because like our leaders have always said they were barbaric.
As far as saying that everyone was doing it at the time I differ on that comment because in 1997 most of the world was decolonized and we as a country were permanently pointing our fingers to most countries especially in Africa while we were doing the same or worse with our natives. Most of Africa starting decolonizing in the early sixties and most were done by the end of the seventies. In other words we were still trying to brutally converting our natives and taking over their land illegally as we were applying sanctions and accusing other countries of colonization. Many millions of people were affected by our hypocrisy.
That must be rhetoric to you as it is for most Conservative leaders these days but it is not for me and I have the right to that view of the issue.
Thanks for this Carlos. I’ve noticed more Catholics calling upon the Pope to come to Canada and apologize for the Church’s role in implementing the residential school policy. I don’t recall seeing this to such a degree back in 2015 when the TRC report was published. It’s as if the crystalization of this policy in the form of the remains of 215 children, then 751, then 182 (and more) finally woke us up.
It’s about time.
The fact that these atrocities happened is shameful, and then to add on the deliberate silencing of Indigenous voices so that the history can be buried like the children is a pain that must be immeasurable for First Nations communities. It’s is heartbreaking that these discoveries are being made — but so necessary. I hope the Canadian government and Catholic church do more and fully support/assist in searching all the schools. Survivors are alive today and they deserve healing. Action is most definitely needed.
Molly: I absolutely agree. I was listening to an interview with Falen Johnson on The Current recently. Falen is an Indigenous woman born in 1982. When she was in Grade 5 (that would have been around 1990/91) a teacher who was supposed to teach them Indigenous history stood in front of the class and said “before the white man came here, Indians ran around naked.” Falon said that moment stayed with her her entire life. She stressed the importance of learning about “the dirty parts” of our history and addressing it.
Here’s the link to the transcripts of that interview: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-june-30-2021-1.6081044/full-transcript-for-june-30-2021-episode-1.6086766
So much for the Government not being in business of doing business, unless of course it is oil.
It seems the Government of Alberta is always in the business of either saving dying oil business or to spend our money cleaning up what the private sector does not.
Summarizing we are in the business of donating our money to the rich private sector that is supposed to know it all. God forbid if the Alberta government uses all this wasted money in renewable energy and for the benefit of us all instead of this awful casino investing on dying industries.
I just want to remind Savage and Kenney that the 825 million that they are throwing out does not belong to the UCP it is our money and as a citizen I would rather see this investment in a referendum instead of the useless question of whether or not we like the federal equalization formula that was changed by the Conservatives headed by Harper.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/06/news/government-alberta-50-cent-stake-sturgeon-refinery-825-million
Carlos, I read the news release announcing the government’s purchase of a 50% equity interest in the refinery. None of this makes sense, starting with Kenney’s belief in the free market and that government should not be picking winners and losers, to the fact CNRL wrote down the value of its 50% share to zero (we paid $825 for the other 50%), to the fact that as equity owners we are 50% on the hook for the refinery, everything from routine maintenance, to repairs, to pollution liability. Savage said paying out the $825M will save us $1B in tolling fees, but we’re still paying $25B in tolling fees over 30 years, and now we have the the addition costs that come with being a 50% owner of the plant.
Andrew Leach put it best. He said: ““We’ve …just handed hundreds of millions of dollars to someone who has cost us billions of dollars.”
I have never seen a more inept government.
‘He said: ““We’ve …just handed hundreds of millions of dollars to someone who has cost us billions of dollars.”
I have never seen a more inept government.’
You are right on Susan – I have never seen a group of pretentious people delivering nothing but a disaster. By the end of 2022 we will not owe the 100 billion they predicted but at this pace we will be more likely on the 200 billion.
These are the same people that constantly insult those with different views. I would suggest them to take a course with the Norwegians and see how smart people make more than 1 trillion dollars by taking care of their people rather than governing to enrich companies that know well how to take advantage of third world governments like ours.
I actually feel embarrassed to be Albertan and witnessing this total collapse of any kind of incompetence.
I am sorry that I am posting more than I should but I am extremely tired of spinning and propaganda from our political class in many ways which in my opinion are destroying us a proud nation and especially a fair nation.
Look at this report
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/06/news/canada-spent-23-billion-supporting-pipelines-iisd-report
23 billion that could have been used to create new jobs in more sustainable and very needed new renewable energies. No wonder we have no money left for anything other than this business welfare state. Imagine if these 23 billion had been used to provide cheaper day care for our children?
That a social democrat is doing this is to BC forests is just another proof that social democrats are just what I have been saying for a while – neo liberals. They all all in the pockets of big money
Just read this article – it is amazing to me that any person on this planet with a brain can allow this to happen
We just continue to destroy anything we can get our hands on
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2021/07/12/Speaking-For-The-Old-Growth/
Well it is quiet in Susan’s world so I would like to post something for those who really care about our environment. For those who have plans to enjoy the pristine British coast for whatever reason here is something you should read.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/13/water-companies-britain-seas-sewage-fines-environment-agency
So much for ‘Developed Nations’ – spend billions on the military and cannot clean up their own crap but oh yes do they point the finger to the shitholes as Trump call them.
By the way it was only recently that Victoria in BC stopped doing this but Halifax still does and God knows what else is dumped in our rivers.
Remember the comments the World Media made about the horrible water conditions in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympic Games? Especially the British Media that was indignant about sending their ultra Oxy-Clean Athletes to touch such contaminated water. Well maybe they are actually pretty prepared for it. The level of hypocrisy is mind numbing.
Here is something important to read – pass it on and we may just have a good candidate to get rid of the Senate Welfare Home for Old politicians.
https://albertapolitics.ca/2021/07/confronting-reality-kenney-government-puts-off-plans-for-referendums-on-grabbing-cpp-creating-provincial-police-force/
This is our premier right?
I no longer accept this idiot as premier. From now I will refer to him as ‘The Clown’ tp avoid ‘The Idiot’
Here is The Clown giving the unvaccinated people a reason to escape the FLU
This man is disgusting
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/premier-kenney-after-the-pandemic-1.6108920
Carlos: Now, we see this latest development in the UCP party. It never ends, does it.
https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/calgary-ucp-mla-devinder-toor-fined-15k-for-multiple-elections-alberta-violations
Yes they violated all the rules in the book because that is who they are. They do not care anyway and the fact is that Elections Alberta does very little other than the fines. To me they should be forced to step down and not allowed to run again.
The UCP is a disaster to this province and the consequences will stay with us for decades.
Here is something way more serious – we know they will never retract or apologize but they do not have to suffer the consequences. How I wished someone would make them pay dearly for this.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/30/analysis/clear-their-names-jason-kenney
Try one more time – WordPress seems to be in a NO day
Well we continue pointing fingers to how the Taliban beats up people on the streets of Kabul
We so not need this propaganda because we have better in our Human Rights Democratic propaganda
These people are protecting trees that are 1000 years old. They are protecting our forests and our ancestry from becoming toilet paper for companies to make millions selling it around the world
This is how they are treated for being decent citizens – are you going to bother voting for the people that order their police to do this? I WILL NOT BOTHER ANYMORE
What a disgrace – no wonder that our pseudo reputation is disappearing – it is all propaganda of freedom and human rights. This is the reality that many of us face to protect what still exists before we transform this country into a latrine of pollution and garbage. Shame on all of us for not having the courage to protect what is sacred and not just profits.
That one does not seem to work let me try again
Ok I guess not – I will take the https and send the rest so you can copy and paste
youtube.com/watch?v=gjLRuuHnUJ8
Carlos: I can’t see the video. Sorry.
Yes it seems that the video has been classified as shocking to some audiences.
Interesting – but go here
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/08/22/news/i-witnessed-police-attacking-canadians-practicing-civil-disobedience-fairy-creek
and if you scroll down you can see part of it – if you want to watch the whole video you will have to sign in to you tube which you just click sign in and then use one of your email IDS like google
You can see part of it in this article
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/08/22/news/i-witnessed-police-attacking-canadians-practicing-civil-disobedience-fairy-creek
scroll down and it is still there
I believe to see the full video just click on watch on You tube and then say yes and then use your email to sigh in – I guess the video has been classified as shocking to some audiences.
I agree it is shocking and criminal.
“It’s important that a person in my position doesn’t burn out.” – Jason Kenney Yesterday when he came back from a his regular brain coma
But those nurses going for 18 months dealing with death and disease and now facing a 3% salary cut it does not matter at all.
What a nightmare this UCP party is from Top to Bottom.
He said he had an awesome Summer – the only positive about the Summer was that for 3 weeks I did not have to put up with this idiot
The Incompetence has no limits with Jason Kenney – it just goes on and on.
No to 10 dollar day care, no to vaccine passport, no to September 30 Holiday
It is his incompetent way or the highway and we Albertans continue to take it because his antivaxxers, anti rule of law, religious fanatics, white nationalists continue to drive policy in this province
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/09/04/opinion/jason-kenney-gives-anti-vaxxers-reward-his-future-fatal-dose