On Jan. 7, 1998, Indian affairs minister Jane Stewart, speaking on behalf of the government of Canada, expressed "our profound regret" not just for the establishment of residential schools, but for all the "past actions of the federal government" toward aboriginals.
As for the residential schools, Ms. Stewart said: "for those of you who suffered this tragedy, we are deeply sorry." The schools, she said, "should never have happened." A $350-million "healing fund" was announced to help turn the page.
The Globe and Mail editorial board "welcomed" the statement and the healing fund, as did most sensible people. "These statements are worth making in their own right," said the paper, "
they are probably an indispensable step to something even more important: building a better future for aboriginal peoples."
Yesterday, however, the editorial board said that somehow the effort of 10 years ago had fallen short: "It is important this time to get it right." The 1998 statement that the board had hailed now is viewed as "not sufficient to the wrongs that had been perpetrated, either symbolically or in substance."
So here we go again. Having offered "profound regret" and deep sorrow, and having paid out more than $1-billion in settlement money, the government of Canada will apologize yet again today, this time presumably with more feeling (whatever that means), at much greater length, and in more elaborate detail.
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080611.wcosimp11/BNStory/National