«As for the woman from Saskatchewan, she remembers having to hold open the furnace doors in her residential school as small bodies were shovelled in for incineration.»
— Roy Macgregor[1]
Pour faire suite à mon précédent billet. 58 ans plus tard, l’État canadien — notre gouvernement — trouve le courage de s’excuser. Mais quelle réparation? Quelle réparation pour ces atrocités qui ne sont toute récente dans notre histoire… sans compter ce que ces nations et leurs membres doivent vivre encore aujourd’hui… sans compter les élans de haines que l’on perçoit encore chez nos concitoyens…
En réponse à cette question, le Rev. Kevin Annett répond — tenez-vous bien — en 6 points[2] :
- A full International War Crimes Tribunal with the powers to prosecute those who can be held responsible for crimes or cover-ups at the native schools.
- A nationwide search for the remains of children – Mr. Annett estimates some 50,000 – who died at these schools, by neglect or abuse, and were never given proper burials.
- The creation of a National Aboriginal Holocaust Museum so Canadians will never forget the crimes against humanity that took place in these schools.
- An official nationwide « Day of Mourning » for all victims, both dead and living, of residential schools.
- An end to any federal tax exemptions for churches that had any involvement in establishing and running such institutions.
- The abolishment of the Indian Act, the winding down of the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs – and the return of all « stolen lands and resources » to Canada’s indigenous nations.
¡Ya basta!
Notes
[1] Roy Macgregor (9 June). Nothing but the truth can give apology true substance. The Globe and Mail, A.2.
