The Et Cetera Post

The latest in a string of apologies made by the Conservative Government was for the Residential Schools program. For decades–and as recently as the 1990s–the Canadian Government ran a program that had as its mandate basically the elimination of First Nations cultures. Aboriginal children were taken from their parents and communities to be housed and taught at residential schools. As you would expect, this has had a devastating effect on the lives and cultures of the affected communities.

The formal apology issued by the Government comes with a bunch of money and the launching of a “truth and reconciliation commission”. Is this a shrewd move on the part of the Conservatives to make some positive headlines at a time when it seems that they’ve run out of ideas? One can’t help but feel that with the number of apologies issued by the government since they came to power, that the value of each new apology is somewhat cheapened. These questions and more come to mind and one can’t help but wonder about the politics of it all.

Yet as the Government shines the spotlight on First Nations issues, the question comes up, what happened to the Kelowna Accord? This agreement did what can rarely be done; it had the blessing of every province, the federal government and First Nations leadership. Should not this unusual feat of a document get better treatment than the garbage can?