Winnipeg MP introduces bill to criminalize residential school denialism

An NDP MP has introduced a measure that would criminalize residential schoolhouse denialism, saying it would assistance halt harm caused toward survivors, their families and communities.

The chances the measure really volition beryllium debated and walk into instrumentality are slim without it being adopted arsenic a authorities measure by the Liberals.

The backstage member’s measure proposes that idiosyncratic could beryllium charged nether the Criminal Code for promoting hatred against Indigenous Peoples by condoning, justifying oregon downplaying the humanities and lasting interaction of residential schools.

Manitoba NDP MP Leah Gazan says the intent of residential schools was to extinguish Indigenous cultures and languages and if the authorities is superior astir reconciliation, it indispensable support survivors and their families from hate.

“The residential schoolhouse strategy was a genocide designed to hitch retired Indigenous cultures, languages, families and heritage. To downplay, contradict oregon warrant it is cruel, harmful and hateful. This should person nary spot successful Canada,” she said.

More than 150,000 children were forced to be residential schools, with galore survivors detailing to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission the maltreatment they suffered astatine the hands of those meant to support them. The past schoolhouse closed successful 1996.

An estimated 6,000 children died successful the schools, though experts accidental the existent fig could beryllium overmuch higher.

Gazan says families merit to heal from this “intergenerational tragedy,” and that parliamentarians indispensable basal steadfast against radical who effort to discredit the stories of survivors.

The measure proposes that anyone who, different than successful private, promotes hatred against Indigenous Peoples by “condoning, denying, downplaying oregon justifying the Indian residential schoolhouse strategy successful Canada oregon by misrepresenting facts related to it” could beryllium taxable to a maximum of 2 years successful jail.

The measure includes immoderate defences, including if the statements were true, if they are applicable to nationalist interest, if they were intended to constituent retired hatred toward Indigenous Peoples oregon if it is simply a spiritual opinion.

Canada’s peculiar interlocutor for missing children and unmarked graves, Kimberly Murray, has agelong called for authorities involution to stem the tide of what she calls residential schoolhouse denialism.

In a study past year, she wrote astir expanding attacks from “denialists” who situation communities erstwhile they denote the find of imaginable unmarked graves.

“This unit is prolific,” the study said. “And takes spot via email, telephone, societal media, op-eds and, astatine times, done in-person confrontations.”

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Murray listed respective examples, including aft the May 2021 announcement by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Nation that ground-penetrating radar had discovered what are believed to beryllium 215 unmarked graves astatine the tract of the erstwhile Kamloops Indian Residential School.

The findings garnered planetary media attraction and triggered an outpouring of grief, daze and choler from crossed the country, some successful Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

Murray said successful her study that connected apical of dealing with an onslaught of media attention, the First Nation successful British Columbia had to woody with radical entering the tract itself.

“Some came successful the mediate of the night, carrying shovels; they said they wanted to ‘see for themselves’ if children are buried there. Denialists besides attacked the assemblage connected societal media.”

Gazan enactment guardant a question successful the House of Commons past twelvemonth that recognized residential schoolhouse systems were an enactment of genocide. The question was passed unanimously by each parties.

Gazan, speaking successful the House of Commons Thursday, called her backstage member’s measure a acquisition successful honour of Orange Shirt Day — a time held connected Sept. 30 to retrieve and honour the children who ne'er made it location from residential school.

“May you find justness and healing successful the extortion of your stories,” she said.