Draft speech edited out Ottawa’s role in residential school abuses: documents
“The government, they talk a great deal about reconciliation,” said Eleanore Sunchild, a Saskatchewan lawyer and advocate from Thunderchild First Nation, who has represented many residential school survivors in physical and sexual abuse cases.The Crown-Indigenous Relations Department has not yet responded to a request to explain the change.
He also apologized for the separation of children from families and acknowledged it carried consequences for future generations. The pontiff asked forgiveness for the “evils” committed by “many Christians” against Indigenous children in residential schools. Many Indigenous leaders said they had hoped for an apology that specifically spoke about the role of the Catholic Church.Bill Percy, a Winnipeg-based lawyer who has represented survivors seeking compensation for sexual and physical abuse, said it’s possible government took issue with the words “at the hands of” in the draft.
Blackstock said she sees where Ottawa has “wiggle room,” given that the federal government did not directly perpetuate abuse.