The Harper ‘Apology’: Residential Schools and Bill C-10
Shauna MacKinnon, Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, explains how the proposed Crime Omnibus Bill, if passed by the Senate this spring (it is currently under review), will inflict further pain and suffering on Aboriginal people in Canada. Aboriginal communities deserve better, MacKinnon argues, from the government that offered a public apology in 2008 and is aware of the serious damage caused by “the legacy of colonial policies, including residential schools.” One must (1) recognize the grave consequences of past Canadian policy decisions on Aboriginal people (e.g., poverty, abuse, unemployment, cultural loss, social isolation, etc.); and (2) acknowledge the evidence of a strong association between social and economic disadvantage and crime. Put these two points together and it means that Bill C-10 is likely to result in even higher and more disproportionate numbers of poor Aboriginal youth and adults in prison (18% of prisoners in Canada are Aboriginal, despite being only 3% of the total Canadian population). Isn’t it about time that the government make a just and wise choice by investing in forms of healing rather than punishment for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people? This would mean, says MacKinnon, putting greater thought and long-term investment into “decolonization and cultural reclamation, together with literacy, education and training, housing and job creation.” Read the article…
