By Frank Stirk

CHURCH LEADERS who took part in negotiating the $1.9-billion residential schools class action settlement that came into effect last month cannot understand why the federal government will not now apologize for its role in this dark chapter in Canadian history.

“You kind of assume from the implementation of the agreement . . . that an apology acknowledging that reality shouldn’t be that difficult,” says James Scott, the United Church of Canada’s General Council officer for residential schools.

Last year, the United Church, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC), the Presbyterian Church of Canada, and about 50 Roman Catholic ‘entities’ accepted the settlement – the largest of its kind in the nation’s history. Over about a 100-year period, they had all at one time or another operated residential schools.

Unlike its Protestant counterparts which have Canadian head offices and leaders, the Roman Catholic Church is comprised of legally and canonically autonomous dioceses, religious orders and institutions. As a result, BC Christian News could not find anyone who could speak on behalf of the Church, even though its ‘entities’ ran about 60 per cent of the residential schools.

The federal government became involved in the schools in 1874. In 1969, it took them over completely. Over the next two decades, they were gradually shut down.  

All four denominations have apologized at least once for the schools, which sought to convert the indigenous ‘savages’ to Christianity by forcibly separating children from their families, heritage, culture and language.

More than 12,000 former students have alleged they also suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of people who ran the schools.

The churches have paid out millions of dollars to settle individual claims with money raised in part from the sale of property, cancelled programs and staff lay-offs. Under the May 2006 agreement, which limits their future liability, they must contribute a further $100-million to a settlement fund.

With only 201 of the 80,000 or so victims still alive rejecting the settlement, the government has announced the payouts will begin in November. Most Aboriginal leaders appear to welcome the fact there is finally a settlement, but others are skeptical.

“This is trying to placate a problem . . . an effort to cut things short, to tie a bow on it and make it go away,” says Ray Aldred, chair of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s  Aboriginal Ministries Council and a member of the Swan River Cree Nation in Alberta.

Beyond financial compensation, the settlement also calls for a five-year, $60-million Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Its work can also now begin, likely by early 2008.

One of its purposes, says interim executive director Bob Watts, is through the personal stories of those involved “to be able to write the history of the residential schools era, to document the legacy of residential schools and make recommendations.”

And it is only when the commission finishes its work – five years from now – that the government will probably issue its own apology.

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In May, MPs voted 257-0 to pass a Liberal motion of apology to the survivors of residential schools. But in a speech in the House of Commons, then-Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said his government’s support of the motion did not constitute a formal apology, and that none would be forthcoming until the TRC fulfills its mandate.

“To be fair, only at that time, once the full facts are known, can the full response from the Government of Canada, at the executive branch, be offered,” he told MPs.

But Scott worries the healing that the commission is meant to foster could be jeopardized if anyone implicated in causing harm testifies without first issuing an apology.

“If people withhold an apology, then there’s a sense that Aboriginal people, former students particularly, are still having to make their case,” he says.

Dr. Ellie Johnson, the ACC’s lead staff person for residential schools, believes the government ought to make two apologies.

“It would show good faith and sincerity,” she says, “for the Prime Minister to offer an apology at the beginning of the work of the commission. And then after having heard the many truths that will come . . . it would likely be appropriate for a deeper apology to be made.”

Johnson adds they have urged Stephen Harper several times to issue an apology. “The last time we wrote, I think, was in June, and we haven’t even had an acknowledgement of that letter, never mind an actual response,” she says. “I find that quite discouraging.”

The TRC is modeled on the South African body of the same name that was set up to try to address the deep wounds caused by apartheid – but seemingly without the same clout.

Unlike its South African predecessor, according to Aldred, there is no mechanism for people to confess their sins and for others to offer forgiveness. “If that doesn’t happen, then you haven’t got reconciliation,” he says.

Johnson also points out that the commission cannot subpoena witnesses nor grant them immunity from prosecution..

Regardless of what the TRC may or may not accomplish, the churches agree they have an ongoing responsibility to tackle not just the residential schools tragedy, but also the systemic racism that Aboriginals have suffered for centuries.

“We have several funds that people can apply for around local programs that bring people together. . . . We will be helping people in congregations prepare for and participate in the truth and reconciliation process,” says Scott. “And we will be looking at other ways to build relationships with Aboriginal people around . . . a broader justice agenda . . . land claims and treaties and that kind of thing.”

“The sin against Aboriginal people is the foundational sin that we live with in this country and in this church,” Johnson adds. “We are trying to change attitudes, change behaviour, and get people to acknowledge the systemic nature of racism in Canada.”

But despite the enormous amount of damage the system caused so many people – not to mention the lingering effects still felt generations later – Watts says most Canadians know almost  nothing about the schools. It is a gap in their knowledge he hopes the commission can help fill.

Watts recalls being told that “one of the things the TRC can do through . . . engaging Canadians broadly is to [create] understanding. There’s a lot of wisdom in that.”

October 2007